Traveler's guide to Ancient Novgorod

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

With whom to fight, where to go, what to buy and where to stay overnight in ancient Novgorod. Travel advice.

How to get there

If you are driving from Western Europe, you need to get to Kolyvan (aka Revel, aka Tallinn later) and from there go by boat by water. Get on a sailing ship - a cogge, where you will surely find yourself in a pleasant company of foreign merchants sailing from Lübeck and other cities of the Hanseatic League or from Livonian cities (you may also meet the Byzantines).

The trip will cost you dearly anyway: your fellow travelers will be the middle class, foreigners and merchants. If you are traveling with friends and colleagues, you can also take a smaller boat - on your ears (or oskuy), its capacity is 30 people. The journey will take about 10 days.

From Pskov can be reached by horse, sleigh or, in extreme cases, on foot. The journey will take about five days. You can also use the waterway - across the Velikaya River, then along the Uza and Shelon rivers. True, in the middle of the path you will have to temporarily change to a horse, while the ship will be dragged along the bank from one river to another.

The process will take place as follows: the ship is unloaded and dragged along the shore on wooden rollers, greased with lard (this is called a drag), and the passengers ride on horses. During unloading, the locals will offer you pies and mash. It is necessary to enter the portage before dark - or already start in the morning.

From Moscow the path will go through Tver, then to Staraya Russa, then bypassing Lake Ilmen (faster on the right side); the journey will take about two weeks. If you are driving at the end of the XIII century, then, once in Tver, inspect the recently erected Spassky Cathedral: later it will be dismantled and rebuilt.

You can also get from Moscow by water (along the Tvertsa River, by dragging along the Volochek River to Mstu, then across Lake Ilmen), however, this is quite dangerous: frequent and sudden storms occur on Lake Ilmen. But if you risk it, it’s faster than walking: this journey will take you 10 days.

When to go

Better in summer: in winter - frost and short daylight hours, Auction closes early, city streets are not lit and unsafe.

It is best to come to Novgorod in the morning or in the afternoon: with the onset of darkness, all 30 (approximately) gates of the Okolny city (outer wall) are closed. If you come to the wall after sunset, you can look for a path on the rampart, it will surely lead you to a loophole: the wooden wall is dilapidated in many places.

Who lives in Novgorod

Only residents of the city itself are considered citizens of Novgorod during the period of independence, but the withdrawal from Novgorod to Novgorod land did not deprive them of the right of citizenship. Descendants of the Ilmen Slovenes and Krivichi live here (tall, fair-haired, narrow-faced, with a gristly nose; they came here in the 6th century), as well as the Finno-Ugric tribes (they gave names to local rivers and lakes - Ladoga, Onega, Msta, Lovat, Luga, Vishera). At first there was a clear division into the Vikings, Slovenes and Chud living here, but by the 11th century, the entire population was mixed.

How to pass for your

A haircut

Ordinary people and children cut their hair “under the pot”. Boyars grow their curls up to their shoulders, level their beard. True, fashion is not the same: as the Flemish knight Gilbert de Lannois, who visited Novgorod in 1413, noted that men, like women, like to braid long hair in braids (women - in two braids, as a rule), descending to the shoulders and chest (in women - on the back); beards could also be braided into two braids.

Cloth

Men tuck their pants into soft leather boots. Over a long shirt (also tucked in), a caftan with buttons down to the knees is worn. Boyars instead of a caftan wear a fur coat (with fur inside, covered with silk, with a fur turn-down collar) and red morocco boots. Ordinary people wear short clothes, members of the nobility - long and usually multi-layered.

A woman usually wears a calf-length or slightly shorter underwear shirt, over which there is a long woolen sundress with long sleeves held back by hoops-bracelets, or a woolen skirt. Above - a wide cape.

In the cold season, which is almost always in Novgorod, they wear several skirts and sometimes pants. In winter - a fur coat, also with fur inside. The head is covered with a scarf tied around the back of the gathered hair. Over the scarf, on the braid that ties it together, there are precious kolts hanging.

Dictionary

Not knowing these words and phrases, you should not meddle in Novgorod: you will not understand anything.

Liberty in princes

From the end of the 11th century, when a posadnichestvo independent of Kiev began to emerge, and until about the end of the 12th century, when the municipal offices of the tysyatsky and archimandrite appeared, the republican structure of Novgorod was created. In 1136, the Novgorodians expelled Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich at the Veche. This attracted the attention of many Russian princes to Novgorod, who tried to occupy the princely table here at least for a while: each tried to get his supporters in the city, parties were formed that were fiercely at enmity with each other. You are a tourist - stay above the fray. You never know who to bet on.

Veche

If you came to the city after 1136, then Novgorod is already an oligarchic republic, and all the most important issues of Novgorod life are decided at the veche. Princes are invited and expelled, questions of war and peace are discussed, debates are held on the intricacies of legislation (the Novgorod letter of judgment was, of course, approved here in the 15th century).

These assemblies are one of the judicial instances of the Novgorod land: traitors and persons who have committed other state crimes are often tried at the veche. Veche disposes of land plots, issues certificates of ownership of land to churches, as well as boyars and princes. At the veche there are elections of officials - archbishops, posadniks, thousand.

Veche begins on the square in front of the Yaroslav's court (from the 15th century - the court; the platform, on which, according to legend, the court of Prince Yaroslav the Wise was once located), sometimes - at the St. Sophia Cathedral. It happens that the development of events is transferred to more spacious streets, and it happens that to the bridge over the Volkhov. The veche's decisions were based on the principle of unanimity. To make a decision, the consent of the overwhelming majority of those present was required. However, reaching such an agreement was not always possible and not immediately.

With an equal distribution of votes, there is often a struggle and meetings are repeated until an agreement is reached. If you arrived in 1218, all that remains is to congratulate you: after the battles of one end (that is, the district) against other veche on the same issue, it lasts a whole week, until "the brothers all agreed unanimously."

Ivanskoe hundred

Unification of merchants around the Church of St. John the Baptist on Opoki, on the Trade Side. This hundred includes merchants who trade (primarily wax) with foreign countries. The most important people in the city: the elders of this guild were members of the council of the Novgorod Republic, representatives of the Novgorod merchant court and participated in the conclusion of trade agreements.

"Men of Novgorod", "people"

All free Novgorodians. In the XIII-XIV centuries, they are divided into the "oldest", or "vyachshih" (the best, that is, boyars and large landowners), and "young", or "black" people (all the rest are free citizens).

Bratchina

A meeting of a group of people (one end, one squad, a team, more often one parish) in honor of the patronal feast for a joint drinking in a special house - gridnitsa (from "greedy" - junior guards). In gridnitsy they feasted in the princely courts. Not only a feast, but also a group of people united by something - parishioners at churches is sometimes called the same way. At these feasts, they usually drink beer or mash. Celebrated together.

To be sure to be at such a feast, come to Novgorod for the big holidays - for Pokrov or Christmas; you can't go wrong by coming to Shrovetide or any patronal feast day. One of the scariest things you can do in Novgorod is to come to the brotherhood as an uninvited guest. Outsiders are usually not invited there, this is a gathering of our own, an act of unity of a certain community, and not a feast for everyone (unless you are an honored guest of Novgorod).

How the city works

Novgorod is located on both sides of the Volkhov River flowing from Lake Ilmen. Miracles are told about Volkhov himself - maybe you will even become a witness to them: Volkhov can flow backwards, or, as they say here, “at the entrance”.

The division of Novgorod according to the Volkhov into two parts is reflected in the structure of the city. Residents rivalry Trading and Sofiyskaya sides often leads to open clashes on the only bridge across the river - the Great.

Sofia side the city is located on the left side of the river. Here is the Kremlin, or rather Detinets, and inside it is the main church shrine, St. Sophia Cathedral.

The Sofia side is more convenient for living than the Trade side. Here are the most prestigious areas - as they are called here, ends: Nerevsky and Lyudin. There are many boyar towers on Velikaya Street at the Nerevsky end. On the border of the People's End and Zagorodsky - the rich Prusskaya street, with stone churches, numerous shops and the highest prices in the city. Boyars-Prussians are very rich, politically active and often use the traditional contradictions between the northern (Nerevsky) and southern (People's) ends.

Great bridge connects the right and left banks of the Volkhov. From time to time, shops are opened on both sides of the bridge, as in Florence, but sometimes they are demolished. Passage along it can be difficult: the usual type of execution of criminals in Novgorod is the overthrow of the culprit from the Great Bridge into Volkhov.

You can also get to the Trade Side by a flat-bottomed boat. The trading side is located on the right side of the river. Novgorod is a large trading city, goods from all over the world flock here; here is the Yaroslav's courtyard. This is a large territory, built up at different times with churches and shopping malls.

To the south of Yaroslav's Dvorishche on the banks of the Volkhov there is Gothic courtyard, founded by merchants from the island of Gotland, since the 14th century, the courtyard has already been rented by German merchants. In this courtyard there is a "Varangian goddess" - the Catholic Church of St. Olaf. At the beginning of the 11th century, in 1028-1030, you can meet Olaf himself: after the dethronation from the throne, he found refuge in Novgorod.

Nearby you will find the Pskov courtyard. These are trade representations: they store, measure and distribute goods there, and calculate profits. The German court, owned by the Hanseatic merchants, is located somewhat east of the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral; in the courtyard is the catholic church of St. Peter. It is fenced with a high wooden palisade. It closes at night and, like all courtyards, is well guarded.

On the Torgovaya side, on the site near the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral, a veche is held, where all the most significant issues of foreign and domestic policy of the Novgorod land are resolved.

Where to live

It is more prestigious and more comfortable to live on Sofia side, and if in Torgovaya, then either in the Gotha or in the German yard - these are special autonomous territories with their own orders. In the courtyards they usually sleep in the church on the beds, these places are intended for merchants: they spend the night with the goods, watch.

Monasteries give shelter to wanderers, there are many of them within the city limits. In the Church of the Assumption on Volotovo Pole (where you will find the most outstanding frescoes in Russian art of the 14th century) there is even an instructive fresco setting out the parable of the abbot of a monastery who did not shelter a beggar wanderer who was knocking at the monastery gates, who turned out to be Christ himself, and the abbot had to abandon the rich guests with whom he feasted, and rush after the Lord to beg forgiveness.

In principle, you can spend the night in some of the inns. Zapolya - a residential area outside the city. Truth, you will have to look for a free bed. Be careful: guests are not welcome here, they may let the dogs go (idle travel is not particularly accepted, they usually travel for a business or religious purpose).

Than to pay

Before joining Moscow, from the XII to the end of the XIV century, in Novgorod the largest monetary unit was hryvnia, after it came half a day. At the end of the 30s of the X century, coins in ancient Novgorod began to be accepted not by count, but by weight. So, the kuna weighed 2, 73 grams, and the cut - 1, 36 grams.

In the XII century, the money account is approximately the following: one hryvnia is equal to 20 nogats, 25 kunas or 50 rezans. You can also pay with Western coins: silver and gold are not yet mined in these parts, so foreign coins, which are also cut into pieces during commercial transactions, are in use. In the same period, you can pay with the skins of fur animals, especially low-value breeds.

Since 1420, Novgorod has its own coin - Novgorod money. The initial weight is about 0.94 grams of silver. It was minted until 1478, when Ivan III destroyed the Novgorodian liberties.

Where to change money

On the The great bridge or at Yaroslav's courtyard (Bargaining) and in other shops. Beware of scammers, buy a leather wallet that hangs from your belt and which may be called "vagina" (without any obscene connotation); many here go with leather shoulder bags for hryvnias.

City walks

The entire center of the city is paved with pine decks: the soil in Novgorod is very wet, and so that you can still walk along the streets, and do not wallow in the mud, Novgorodians are laying wide wooden flooring. They quickly sag, new tiers are laid on them. You will walk on them.

The streets are narrow here. Almost always close to the pavement adjoins the palisade of someone's estate, it is not always easy to walk; if you notice that a rider is approaching, then it is better to be closer to the opening of the gate: there you will be less covered with mud (and mud is everywhere here). You can walk, it is better in the company, otherwise may attack on the street; you can also move on horseback. If you are a woman, especially an unmarried woman, your appearance on the street will cause gossip only if you do not go to church accompanied by a nanny or older women or men.

Route options for walking

Go to St. Sophia Cathedral. It is worth starting a tour of the city from Detinets. The Novgorod Kremlin was built of light stone; many towers, some of which have gate churches. Here is the St. Sophia Cathedral, built in 1045-1050, the main temple of the Novgorod diocese and the entire veche republic, the symbol of Novgorod. The temple is crowned with five domes and is divided by massive blades. Please note: all the facades of the cathedral are not plastered, so you can see the laying of plinth (flat brick) and large stones on a solution of lime.

The icon "Sign" helped the Novgorodians to defend the city from the Suzdal people. The main shrine is a double-sided external icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Sign" (the Mother of God with upraised hands, depicting the infant Christ on her chest; on the reverse side - Saints Joachim and Anna, parents of the Mother of God).

According to the legend, recorded in writing in the XIV century, during the siege of the city by the Suzdal people (by the troops of the coalition of northeastern Russian princes sent by Andrei Bogolyubsky) in 1170, the icon was carried on the wall, an enemy arrow hit it, after which tears flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God, the icon turned to the Novgorodians, and trembling and horror attacked the Suzdal people, they seemed to have gone blind, began to fight with themselves, and soon the siege was lifted. This event became a popular subject of Novgorod icon painting “The Miracle from the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign”.

View Onfim's drawings. If you arrived in Novgorod around 1270, after visiting the cathedral, go to Velikaya street to the boy Onfim, it is nearby. Onfim exercises his literacy every day. He has a lot of unnecessary birch bark. He's drawing unseen beasts himself on horseback, rooks, which he sees every day on the Volkhov. Can you instill in a conversation with Onfim the proverb "Who is against God and the great Novgorod?": It has already appeared.

Visit the chest temple. Return to town and cross the bridge to the Trade Side, or take the boatman. If you go left from Torg in 1362, then on the bank of the ancient Fyodorovsky stream you will immediately see the church of Fyodor Stratilat on the Stream, which was built a year earlier by the mayor Semyon Andreevich. It is a cubic, four-pillar, one-domed building with many decorative elements: niches, depressions, rollers, arches, eyebrows above the windows.

There are many niches and secret boxes in the temple itself. for storing valuables. The planter considered this temple not only as a church, but also as a stone chest-safe: storing goods and jewelry in the basements of temples is a common thing, protection from thieves and frequent fires.

Talk to Theophanes the Greek. If you are in the city between 1374 and 1378, then go to Ilyina Street rather. There is one of the most interesting examples of Novgorod architecture - the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin. Here you can meet the Byzantine Theophanes, nicknamed the Greek, who is painting the temple while standing. Contemporaries consider him not only a brilliant master.

Novgorodians say about Feofan that he "Glorious wise man, very cunning philosopher." Theophan creates his images "standing with his feet without rest, speaking with his tongue with the coming verb, and with his mind distant and intelligent guessing." The paintings inside the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin are distinguished by their freedom in dealing with the iconographic tradition.

Look at the Last Judgment. From the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin, you can walk to the rampart and, leaving the gate, walk along the footbridge to the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa. It's about an hour's walk. The church stands on a low hill, separated from the settlement by a river. It was built in the summer months of 1198 by the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich.

Inside the temple - beautiful murals: all walls, pillars, vaults and arches are painted. In the dome - the Ascension, in the drum - the prophets, in the supporting arches - medallions with images of 40 martyrs. The western wall is occupied by a painting of the Last Judgment.

Purchases

Where to do

On the Trade side. There are shopping arcades, boats and ships with goods are moored by the river. Goods come to the city from all over Russia, Europe and the East. You can buy everything here.

What to take

They offer honey, rye, oats, hemp (for ropes), wax, leather, linen fabrics, potash (alkaline salt, digested from wood and grass ash). Good Western European fabrics, Venetian glass can be found.

A huge selection of traditional Novgorod export goods - furs, the best are squirrel, sable, ermine; fur is sold "in the forties" - that is, a set for a full fur coat. There are a number of icons, you can also order them immediately from the artist. There are expensive women's jewelry - kolts, each of which costs half a hryvnia (25 grams of silver). There is almost no gold at the Auction, but there is a lot of silver, river pearls, Limoges enamels, dyed cloth from Bruges and Ghent.

Where to weigh

If you are unsure of the exact weight of an item, please visit John's Church on Opoki. In 1130 the church was transferred to the Ivanovo community of merchants who sold wax and honey. All commercial litigation is dealt with here. Control standards of measures are kept in the church, such as "ruble hryvnia", scales - "waxed skalva", "honey pood", "Ivan's elbow" for measuring the length of the cloth.

Convenient way of reckoning

If you are in Novgorod for a long time, then it makes sense to get counting tags - these are sticks with deep notches. These notches indicate the amount of debt, then the stick is split in half along the notches: one half is kept by the debtor, and the other - by the one who lends. Calculating, you check if the number of notches matches and close the debt.

Where there is

If you are not at home with hunger, then it is best to find food. to the Auction, in the ranks. There you can buy meat, cabbage soup, pies, in the season - cherries (it does not grow in Novgorod, they are brought from other regions), nuts, wild berries, drink jelly, mead or mash (if you overdo it, you may have a headache); red wines are brought from Italy, but it is better to find Byzantine ones. You can buy beer, and sausages to it, for Novgorodians this is a common delicacy.

How to have fun

Hunting

The main entertainment is hunting. Falcon or canine. When hunting, the aristocracy usually tramples crops at this moment, so make sure that the hunt takes place in the possessions of your acquaintances. Usually the beast (wolf, fox) is chased and poisoned by a pack of dogs. It's pretty bloody fun. You need to dress warmly: although the hunters move on horses, the local weather is unpredictable, and you need to be well equipped, have a raincoat or cape with you. You can go with a spear on a bear. The event is certainly fun, but very risky: you can lose limbs, and even life.

Drink, listen to epics

In the evening, you can go to a feast or to an ordinary booze - they take place in houses or in a special place called a grill. Gridnitsa is a huge room in which a feasting princely squad or boyars from the whole street can be accommodated. Up to 400 people can stay in the grill at the same time. At the feast you can listen to horn music, epics about Sadko and Vasily Buslaev, hug the bear.

Fight

Fistfights are often held on the Great Bridge. An ordinary fight, no special rules to complete fatigue one of the parties or the parish of the archbishop. It is forbidden to take a lead (a piece of lead) in your hand, but many violate the prohibition.

Listen to the singers of antiquity

At the Torgue on the Sofia side, you can listen to storytellers: they sing antiquities (epics and spiritual verses) and sometimes tell fairy tales (later these texts will be performed by the descendants of Novgorodians who immigrated even further north). You may be able to hear how the guslar Sadko - one of the most popular heroes of Novgorod epics - became a merchant with the help of the underwater king from Lake Ilmen.

You will learn how Sadko had to sink to the bottom of the sea on the "chessboard", hear about the "girl Chernavushka" with whom Sadko "Did not commit fornication" in the underwater kingdom, and about the magic assistant - St. Nicholas Mozhaisk, who advised Sadko to break his gusli in order to escape from the sea tsar-music lover. Listen to the epics several times: each time the epic is sung in a new way, has plot branches.

Prince against the bear

One German text of the XII century tells about the hunt of the "king of the people of Russia Arold" (Harold is the generic Scandinavian name of the Novgorod and then Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the eldest son of Vladimir Monomakh), who retired from his companions and was attacked by a bear, was wounded by him, but subsequently he was healed through prayer to Saint Panteleimon. It is known from Russian acts of the 30s of the XII century that in honor of this he baptized his son and founded the Panteleimonov monastery near Novgorod; it is likely that this is where the ill-fated "hunting drama" took place.

Fights for the delight of the devil

According to the Novgorod legend, entered into the chronicle in the 15th century, during the baptism of Novgorod, the idol of Perun, deposed to the Volkhov, floated under the Great Bridge, threw his clubs (clubs) on it, and since then, to the delight of the devil, Novgorodians have been fighting with each other on this bridge.

Play the "mill"

At the Torga, on the Great Bridge, at home Novgorodians play the "mill". The game is designed for two, nine black and nine white round pieces are usually used as playing pieces. The object of the game is to place three pieces of the same color in a row.

Go to the veche

For gathering at the veche, a special veche bell rings. It is interesting and dangerous to visit the veche at the same time: any questions are decided here by a majority of votes. It happens that the confrontation turns into a military conflict:opposing ends or sides face each other under banners, in armor and with weapons. As a rule, they are in no hurry to join the fray: Vladyka manages to reconcile them.

Novgorod communication

One of the main means of communication is notes on birch bark. Birch bark letters, written in iron letters, are sent on every occasion - from income statements and court reports to appointments and requests to buy fish or send money. Landowners write to managers, peasants write to boyars, husbands to wives, wives to husbands, parents to children, and children to parents. There are even schools in Novgorod that teach literacy.

In order not to waste birch bark in vain, children practice spelling on cerah - tablets covered with wax and used as a writing surface. Cera is convenient because the text written in wax can be easily erased and a new one can be written. Writing and birch bark are sold at the Auction. Please note that after reading the letter, it is customary to tear it apart and throw it under your feet. Epistolary novels cannot be found in the city.

The complaint of the expelled wife:

“From the Guests to Vasil. What my father and relatives gave me in addition, after him. And now, by marrying a new wife, he does not give me anything. Shaking my hands [as a sign of a new engagement], he chased me away, and took the other as his wife. Come, do mercy”(No. 9, 1160–70s).

Love letter:

“[Did I send?] To you three times. What evil do you have against me … that you did not come to me? And I treated you like a brother! And you, I see, do not like it. If you were in love, you would have escaped from [human] eyes and come. Maybe I hurt you out of my folly, but if you start making fun of me, then God judge you and I am unworthy”(No. 752, 1080-1100).

Request:

“From Boris to Nostasia. As soon as a letter is needed, tacos came with a tsolovek on a stallion, there are a lot of things to do here. Yes, the sorotsitsyu came - I forgot the sorotsice”(No. 43, end of the 14th century).

Dangers

Epidemics. We strongly recommend refraining from traveling to Novgorod in the middle of the XIV century. In 1352, the city was visited by the famous Black Death, reflected in Boccaccio's Decameron in relation to Florence, where it happened a few years earlier.

Fires- not uncommon in Novgorod. The fire swept across the Great Bridge to the other side, “walked on the water”. It was rather difficult to hide from him: those hiding in stone churches could suffocate from the smoke or be killed and robbed by the robbers who appeared during the disaster - “evil people” who coveted the goods that the Novgorodians kept in the basements of stone churches.

Enemy sieges. We hope that you will have enough intelligence and good luck not to go to the city in 1386, during the campaign to Novgorod of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, because of which the Novgorodians were forced to burn down all the suburban monasteries, and Dmitry's troops ravaged many volosts in the Novgorod land, took away the goods from merchants, they took a large "full".

The safest areas of Novgorod - Nerevsky and Lyudin are on the Sofia side, where most of the Novgorod aristocracy lives. It is not recommended to walk on the bridge over the Volkhov at night and early in the morning: you can be not just robbed, but also become a "head" - this is how the killed were called in Russia.

If you get beat up, but there are witnesses, then go to court - according to the code of laws "Russkaya Pravda" you should be compensated for the damage: "If they knock out a tooth and see blood in his [the victim's] mouth and there are witnesses, then 12 hryvnias are fine for the prince, and for the tooth they are hryvnias." …

Be careful when buying slaves. If you buy a runaway slave at the auction, and the owner sees him at your place, then you will have to return him and pay a huge fine.

Beware of the holy fools. They throw themselves at whatever comes their way (rock or dirt might be the nicest on this list). On the other hand, holy fools can be interesting people to talk to - if you contact them at the right time. In the 15th century, you may encounter the holy fool Mikhail Klopsky, who lives outside Novgorod, in the Trinity Klopsky monastery; a century earlier - with Fedor and Nikolai Kochanov. The holy fools pass their verdict on society, depicting the massacre on the bridge, denouncing the confrontation between the two sides of the city on the Volkhov.

If you are going to be executed, having found guilty for some kind of offense, then keep in mind that you will first be collectively beaten (since you are guilty before "all Novgorod"), and then thrown into the water. Try to get your friends to quickly bring the boat to the place of your fall. In the XII century, if the convicted person swam out, they did not carry out a second execution: it was believed that “God saved him”. There is another way to escape: in 1416, the boyar, who was thrown from the bridge by an indignant crowd, was saved by a fisherman by dragging him into his boat.

Don't pull out your hair from the mustache and beard of the Novgorodians! This is a grave insult, for this a high fine is imposed (according to Russkaya Pravda - 12 hryvnias, more than for stealing someone else's horse or stealing a weapon, for both, three hryvnias were supposed to be paid).

Starvation. Alas, famine in Novgorod is not uncommon. In 1231, only the arrival of German merchants saved the city from complete extinction due to a crop failure that happened last year: "… Germans came from Zamorye with wheat and flour and a lot of good things, and there was already a hail of sei at the end."

Who is the power here

In order to figure out who you are dealing with, you need to learn the pyramid of public relations in this complex city:

Archbishop. The head of the Novgorod diocese (bishopric, by the end of the 12th century - archdiocese), is subordinate to the Metropolitan of Kiev, who, in turn, is appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The archbishop is the guarantor of the rights and freedoms of citizens, participates in the discussion of issues of war and peace, reconciles citizens, ends and parties among themselves, often for this purpose goes at the head of the procession to the Great Bridge, where clashes take place, and stops armed confrontation.

The planter. The highest government office in Novgorod until the 15th century. The posadnik was elected from the noble boyars at the veche. In the XIV century, the number of posadniks became according to the number of ends - each region had its own, and in the 15th century there were so many of them that they were divided into old and young.

Tysyatsky. Represents the "black" population in the Novgorod authorities (artisans, merchants, ordinary landowners), while the mayor or mayor are the "oldest", that is, the boyars.

"300 belts". 300 representatives of the largest and most influential boyar families, holders of gold belts - a prestigious and status item.

Boyars. In Novgorod, the boyars are a closed aristocratic corporation, getting into which is almost impossible. In fact, they are power.

Live people. People of non-boyar origin, owners of their own estates, possessing land ownership in the Novgorod land, like the boyars. They enter the city embassies, participate in the commercial court.

Merchants. The boyars are also engaged in trade, but the merchants are professional. According to their status, they are lower than the boyars and zhiznih people.

"Black people". Craftsmen, small traders. "Black people" can take part in the veche and constitute the majority on it.