Despite the paucity of sources on the history of Ancient Rus', they provide sufficient grounds to determine what the size of the squad was and who it consisted of. One of the earliest mentions of the ch_i_s_l_e_n_n_o_s_t_i squad of Russian princes is a fragment from the notes of Ibn Fadlan, who in 921-922. As part of the Baghdad embassy, ​​he traveled to the lands of the Volga Bulgars. There he was able to communicate with the “Russians” and even observe the burial ceremony of their “king”. Along with other features noted by Ibn Fadlan, in his notes there is a mention that interests us:

“One of the customs of the king of the Rus is that with him in his very high castle there are always four hundred men from among the heroes, his associates, and the reliable people among them who are with him die at his death and are killed for him.”

According to A.A. Gorsky, Ibn Fadlan’s information is quite reliable:

“The number of the squad of the “king of the Rus”, named by Ibn Fadlan, may be close to the true one, as evidenced by a comparison with West Slavic material: thus, according to T. Vasilevsky’s calculations (based on archaeological data), the princes of Gniezn - the main center of the Polish glades - in 9th century had no more than 200 warriors directly with them."

So, the ancient Russian prince, apparently, led an armed detachment of 200-400 people. They made up the princely squad.

It is somewhat more difficult to determine the s_t_r_u_k_t_u_r_u of the squad. The conclusion that the princely squads had a hierarchical structure seems to have never been questioned by anyone. However, each researcher represents this hierarchy itself in his own way. Almost everyone agrees that the top of the squad was the so-called senior squad. However, its composition is quite difficult to determine. CM. Soloviev, I.D. Belyaev, I.E. Zabelin and others agree that it included boyars. However, the word boyar itself was apparently also ambiguous. This is what B.D. writes. Grekov:

“The boyars of our antiquity consist of two layers. These are the richest people, often called by people “the best, the most distinguished, the oldest” - a product of the social evolution of each given place - the native nobility, as well as the highest members of the princely court, some of whom may be of alien and non-Slavic origin The terminology of our chronicles sometimes distinguishes between these two layers of nobility: “boyars” and “elders”. “Elders”, or otherwise “elders”, are the so-called zemstvo boyars. inhabitants of the earth" (Nobilis in portis vir ejus, guando sederit cum senatoribus terrae" - her husband is gazed at at the gates, sometimes even to sit in the assembly with the elders and with the inhabitants of the earth). Upon the return of those sent to familiarize themselves with different religions, Vladimir convened “his boyars and elders.” “There can be no doubt,” Vladimirsky-Budanov writes on this occasion, “that the Eastern Slavs from ancient times (regardless of the visiting princely nobles) had among themselves the same class of the best people, which the Western Slavs call majores natu, seniores, kmets and other terms." These zemstvo boyars differ from the princely boyars. Vladimir I convened “his bolyars, mayors and elders in all cities” to feasts; in his Kiev palace he treated “bolyars, gridi, sotskys, tens and deliberate men.” In Novgorod, the presence of these zemstvo boyars is especially clear. When in Novgorod under Prince. In Yaroslav, the Novgorodians killed the Varangian warriors in 1015, the prince took revenge by beating their “deliberate husbands”, who made up a “thousand” here, i.e. Novgorod military, not Varangian organization. In 1018, defeated by Boleslav of Poland and Svyatopolk, Yaroslav ran to Novgorod and wanted to flee overseas; The Novgorodians did not let him in and declared that they were ready to fight Boleslav and Svyatopolk, and “began to collect cattle from the husband for 4 kunas, and from the elders for 10 hryvnia, and from the boyars for 18 hryvnia.” It is quite obvious that the Novgorod veche imposed this collection not on the princely warriors, which Yaroslav did not have at the moment, because he ran to Novgorod with only 4 men, but on the local population, including the boyars.

We see the same local boyars in Kyiv. The Olgovichi, who defeated the Kyiv prince Yaropolk Vladimirovich (son of Monomakh) in 1136, as the chronicler says, “there are many boyars: David Yaroslavich, the thousand, and Stanislav the Good Tudkovich and other men... the boyars of Kiev seized many of them.” These were the Kyiv boyars, not the Yaropolkovs, i.e. local Kiev nobility.... So, there are different boyars, just like urban and rural residents..."

However, our desire to see in the boyar a necessarily influential courtier encounters a significant obstacle - sources in particular, “Russian Truth”. In it, as has been repeatedly noted by various researchers, the boyars are freely replaced by ognishchans (by the way, maybe “ognishchanin” does not mean “manager of the princely household,” but simply “houseowner”? or “landowner”?, which, however, could have coincided for the early period), Ruthenians, princely men or simply men. From this, it seems, a very interesting conclusion can follow, which, however, requires additional justification (or refutation): a “boyar” is almost just a “free man.” At the same time, there may have been some gradation of the “Zemstvo boyars”.

Part of the “oldest” squad may have consisted of “men” (I.D. Belyaev), to which sometimes firemen are added (M.V. Dovnar-Zapolsky). According to S.Yu. Yushkov, the “men” were beaten by vassal boyars. At the same time, it is possible that they could lead their own small detachments, consisting of younger relatives, free servants and slaves. Responsibility for arming and supplying such “teams” should, obviously, rest with the boyars themselves. Order and discipline in the campaign and battles were maintained by the personal connections of the boyar-combatant with his “child” and the personal connection of the boyar with his prince.

The “middle” layer of the squad consisted of the Gridba (S.M. Solovyov, I.D. Zabelin) or princely men (I.A. Porai-Koshits). It is possible that, unlike the boyars who were involved in government, the men were engaged only in military service.

The “junior” squad consisted of servants (grides). This apparently included stepsons and youths. Most likely, they were military servants. In addition, as N. Zagoskin believed, the “junior” squad also included children’s squads, who performed only military functions (squires?). The very terms that are used to name all the categories mentioned, except for boyars and husbands (identical to the names of the younger members of the clan who performed “menial” work), are an indirect characteristic of these social groups. Most likely, M.F. was right. Vladimirsky-Budanov, who believed that initially the members of the “middle” and “young” squads were unfree or semi-free people. They could also be called courtyard people. It is from here, according to most researchers, that the later name of ministerial servants - nobles - came from.

The senior squad is apparently identical to the “father’s” squad mentioned in the sources, i.e. she was not only nominally, but also actually the eldest). At the same time, a significant part of the princely detachment were his peers. It is not without reason that the word squad itself comes from the word friend, which was originally very close in meaning to the words comrade (from the word tovar - “camp camp”, associated with the Turkic form, close to the Turkish tabur - “camp”), comrade-in-arms. Young warriors grew up and were raised with the prince from the age of 13-14. Together with these warriors, the prince studied military affairs and went on his first campaigns. Apparently, they were bound by friendly ties, which were reinforced by mutual personal obligations. Perhaps it was this part of the detachment that constituted the “middle” squad.

Apparently, over time, the prince prefers to rely not on his father’s warriors, but on his peers. Perhaps this is precisely what is connected with the numerous reproaches of the chroniclers against the princes, that they listen to the advice of the “lessons”, neglecting the opinion of the “elders”:

“In the summer of 6601... And [Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich] began to love the meaning of the learned, creating light with them; these began to start, the first to indignate their squads and the people did not reach the prince of the truth, they began to rob these unions, sell people, I don’t accept this in my illnesses.”

Perhaps this hides the gradual strengthening of the role of the prince, who sought to get rid of the influence of the squad. It is worth mentioning, however, that this text may not be taken literally. It is most likely based on the biblical story of how King Rehoboam, who had previously consulted “with the elders who stood before Solomon his father,” later neglected their advice and began to be guided by what “the young people who had grown up told him.” together with him,” and this led to misfortune (1 Kings 12: 6-11, 13-14; 2 Chron. 10: 6-11, 13). Nevertheless, there was undoubtedly a basis for such a correlation between the behavior of Vsevolod Yaroslavich and Rehoboam.

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

As I.Ya. writes Froyanov, the word squad is common Slavic. It is derived from the word “friend”, the original meaning of which is companion, comrade in war.

In Russian historical science, a squad is usually understood as a detachment of warriors (“Svyatopolk, and Volodymyr and Rostislav, having completed the squad, went away”) or the prince’s inner circle (“you love the squad greatly”).

It is difficult to say when and how the squad appears among the Eastern Slavs. One can only speculate about the origin of the squad based on indirect data and analogies. As a rule, when it comes to such questions, one is drawn to early evidence about the squads of the ancient Germans. In the 1st century AD among the ancient Germans, warriors constituted a special group. She lived separately from her community with the chief. The warriors 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 received in this way. He was bound to the squad 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 also had similar characteristics. However, we can only draw this conclusion by analogy. Moreover, in the sources the word “squad” is clearly not unambiguous. Thus, in the story about the Kiev uprising of 1068, two different squads are mentioned: “Otherwise people speak against the governor of Kosnyachka; I went up the mountain from the evening, and came to the Kosnyachkov courtyard and did not find it, standing at the courtyard of Bryachislavl and deciding: “Let’s go and drop off our squad from the cellar.”<…>Izyaslav sits on the porch with his retinue...” As we see, in addition to the princely squad, “their” squad of the rebels of Kiev is also mentioned here. It is difficult to say who it consists of in this case, but it is obvious that in addition to the princely squads, there were others. However, in historical literature it is customary to call a princely detachment of warriors a squad.

The selection of the princely squad, according to A.A. Gorsky, contributes to the destruction of the tribal structure that engulfed the Slavic ethnic group in the V-VI centuries. S.V. Yushkov believes that the princely squads, as a circle of his closest associates and collaborators, have existed since the very emergence of the Kyiv state. I agree with both of them, since I consider the armed detachments of tribal leaders of the V-VII centuries to be the prototype of the princely squad of Kievan Rus.

Despite the paucity of sources, we can guess 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 Russians in<…>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 to eight hundred people.

There is a unity of opinion on the issue of squad composition in historical literature. The main contingent of the squad, according to S.V. Yushkov, can be considered “the ancestral nobility, but anyone whom the prince considered valuable in military affairs could be included in the number of warriors.” From this it is clear that the prince could receive people of different nations and tribes, which is confirmed by sources. In addition to the Slavs and Varangians, the squad included Ugrians (Hungarians), Torci, and other tribes. 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 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 the exercise of his power, and after the death of Yaroslav, the chronicles do not mention the Varangian squads at all. However, already under Oleg, the Varangians perceived themselves as an indigenous population (as Slavs). Such assimilation is depicted before us by Oleg’s treaty with Byzantium in 911, in which his warriors swear by “Perun, their god, and Volos, the cattle god.” I.D. Belyaev also says that Hungarians, Pechenegs, Poles, Polovtsians, etc. 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” that cannot be classified as either the first or the second.

The “senior” squad consisted of those who served the prince’s father (“the father’s squad”). It passes to the younger generations of princes, armed with the same influence and authority in the druzhina and public environment. Most often, this group of warriors includes boyars, less often husbands, S.V. Yushkov believes that “from its ranks come the thousanders, posadniks and other representatives of the princely administration.” The chronicles are replete with stories about princes who were in the boyar company in a variety of life situations, social and everyday: “... and after singing the liturgy, the brothers dined stingily, each with his own boyars,” “and the noble prince Vsevolod went against him with his son<…>and all the bolyars, and blessed Metropolitan John with the monks and with the prosvutera. And all the kiyans wept greatly over him,” “Svyatopolk convened the bolyars and kiyans, and told them what Davyd had told him<…>. And deciding the boys and the people...” The old tradition of the duma of the prince and his squad was fundamental in the relations of the prince with the boyars. Whatever the prince was up to, he always had to “reveal” his plan to the boyars who served him, otherwise risking losing the boyars’ support, which threatened him with failure. Princes sometimes neglected to consult with the boyars, but such facts were rare. However, over time, the prince prefers to focus on the “average” squad, not listening to the advice of the boyars, but from the “senior” squad, the commanders of the “warriors” invariably stand out, because they are the most experienced and valiant.

The “middle” layer of the squad consisted of the Gridba, according to S.M. Soloviev and I.E. Zabelin, or princely men (S.V. Yushkov, I.A. Porai-Koshits). It is possible that, unlike the boyars who were involved in government, the men were engaged only in military service. These warriors 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 this is precisely what is connected with the numerous reproaches of the chroniclers against the princes, that they listen to the advice of the “unique”, neglecting the opinion of their elders: “And [Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich] began to love the meaning of the wise, creating light with them, and now began to make Prince of Truth, I began to rob this union and sell people, for this I do not lead in my illnesses.” Perhaps this hides 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 consisted of the prince’s peers. According to I.N. Danilevsky, they grew up and were raised with the prince from the age of 13-14. Together with these warriors, the prince studied military affairs and went on his first campaigns. Hence 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, almsmen, stepsons, who, depending on the individual duties assigned to them, were swordsmen, throwers, virniks, and others. Sources introduce us to the youths earlier than to the rest of the representatives of the “younger” squad - in the 10th century: “therefore the villagers sat down to drink, and Olga commanded her 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 “youth” and “servant”: “and when he heard the war, he left him. Boris stood with his youths<…>and behold, she attacked like a beast near the tent, and put on spears, and gored Boris, and his servant, falling on him, and gored with him.” The official purpose of the youths is revealed quite easily in written monuments. “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells about the youths who served Olga and Svyatoslav. In the Extensive Pravda, the princely youth is placed in a row with the groom and the cook: “even as a princely youth, or as a groom, or as a cook.” Based on the material of the Extensive Pravda, we can conclude that the youth performed the functions of Virnik’s assistant (“And behold, the horses of Virnia were beaten under Yaroslav: Virnik take seven buckets of malt for a week, either weed the ram, or two nogate; and in the middle, kuna cheese, and in Friday same<…>now and then a virnik with a youth..."), a bridge worker ("And this is the lesson of the bridge workers"), according to M.B. Sverdlov, and a swordsman, and an independent agent in collecting vir. The youths are not only household, but also military servants of the prince. Svyatopolk Izyaslavich had 700 youths ready for battle: “He [Svyatopolk Izyaslavich] said: “I have 700 of my own youths.” Data about the youths indicate 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 among them there were also free ones, because... the youth could occupy the usual position of assistant to a virnik for a free man and, in general, be in the service.

Many researchers combine adolescents and children, which is not entirely correct, because they differed in their functions and position. According to Article 86 of the Dimensional Pravda, “pay forty kunas to an ironman, and five kunas to a swordsman, and half a hryvnia to a child; then this is an iron lesson, who knows what.” It follows that the child supervised the testing of the iron in court, and therefore was the main executor of the sentence in court. According to Article 108 of the Dimensional Pravda, “even if the brothers stretch out before the prince on their ass, which children go and divide, then he will take the hryvnia kun.” It turns out that in the event of a judicial division of the inheritance between brothers, the child is entitled to a small payment. “During the uprising in Vladimir in 1178, not only the princely posadniks and tiuns were killed, but also children’s and swordsmen, “and their houses were plundered,” which means that the children’s had a house like the tiuns and posadniks.” From the above material it is clear that the activities of children are much more limited, hence their unequal position.

From the end of the 12th century. one can trace how the “junior” 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 soldiers, in order to preserve traditions, should be exempted from management and service at the princely court.

S.V. Yushkov believes that “already by the beginning of the 11th century. there has been a process of disintegration of the squad relations, which manifested itself in the separation of the most influential squad members from the princely court.” 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 collapse of the squad began to appear.

To summarize, it should be noted once again that within the Old Russian squad there was a hierarchical division into “senior”, “middle” and “junior”. Within each specific social layer, only its specific functions were inherent. 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.

TEAM

TEAM, a group of warriors united around a tribal leader, then a prince, a privileged layer of society. Armed detachments led by princes in Ancient Rus' took part in wars, administration of the principality, and the prince’s personal household. They were divided into “elder” (the most noble and close persons - “princely men”) and “younger” - “gridi” and “youths”. At the end of the 12th century. D. was replaced by the so-called. courtyard (see STATE'S YARD).

Source: Encyclopedia "Fatherland"

originally a princely army, formed on a voluntary basis and having the rights of self-government. The “prince's squad,” although smaller, was nevertheless the main, central part of the entire mass of warriors. In peacetime, the warriors accompanied the prince “to polyudye”, collected tribute for him, helped him in governing the regions and in the administration of justice, served yard service, etc. The income received by the prince from the volost and part of the military booty were used to support the squad. The relationship between the squad and the prince was based on a contractual basis: there was no obligation to serve, the prince and the squad were bound by material and moral ties, and in case of dissatisfaction, the squad could always leave the prince’s service. With constant strife and strife, the princes feel the need to rely on the squad, which is why they value it, take care of the best possible composition of it and, once they have formed it, try to tie it to themselves. From here we see a special kind of attitude of the prince towards the squad: he feasts with her, favors her, tries to please her, for which purpose he willingly listens to all her wishes; From here follows the prince’s custom of conferring with his squad, a custom that little by little turned into a rule, non-observance of which was reproached to the prince. Among the merits of the famous prince, chroniclers always mention his solidarity with his squad and his frequent meetings with them. Concerned about the best selection of the squad, the princes did not pay attention to its tribal composition; therefore, foreign elements penetrate into it, especially under the first princes, when in the ranks of the warriors we meet Finns, Ugrians, Polovtsians, Khazars, Poles, and Torks. In terms of their position and significance, the warriors were not the same: already in the 11th century. We see the division of the squad into two categories: into the oldest, large, molded, or front squad, and into the small, younger squad. The oldest difference between them lay mainly in age, but over time another one was added, rooted in the actual difference between better and worse people. The senior squad consisted of princes and boyars. This was the force with which the prince had to reckon. Men and boyars formed their own squads, with whom they served the prince; From among them, senior officials were appointed (posadniks, thousanders, governors), they were also the main advisers to the prince in his Duma. It happened that the princes had to accept the opinion of the senior squad, abandoning their own, with which she did not agree. The senior squad enjoyed certain legal advantages that gave it the character of a privileged class. The main one was the more careful protection of personal safety by law: for the murder of a prince, the law threatened twice as severe a crime as for the murder of a younger warrior. The younger squad bore the general name gridey, gridby; its lowest rank consisted of youths who performed various kinds of official duties at the princely court; if necessary, they armed themselves and were then called friendly youths; Among the youths there could also be unfree people, slaves. The highest rank of the junior squad consisted of children's squads, which were exclusively military in nature; Between them, swordsmen are mentioned who stood closer to the prince. By the end of the 12th century. the terms “gridba” and “children’s” disappear, around this time a new term appeared - “boyar children”, which, it is believed, began to be used in the same sense as “children’s”, i.e. to designate the highest rank of junior warriors. The word squad was also synonymous with community, artel, gang.
S.Yu.

Source: Encyclopedia "Russian Civilization"

Synonyms:

See what “DRUGHINA” is in other dictionaries:

TEAM- Lazarev, Moscow clerk. 1552. A. Yu. 219. Petelin’s squad, Moscow clerk. 1588. A.I. I, 425. Yuryev’s squad, Boris Fedorovich’s messenger. 1598. A.I. II, 5. Druzhinka Tumak, Streltsy foreman in the city of Tsarev. 1601. A.I. II, 38. Mikhailov’s squad... Biographical Dictionary

- (7) 1. Close servants of the prince, who made up his permanent army: And Igor spoke to his squad: “Brother and squad!” I wish I could have been better off than I was full of being; and let us all, brethren, look at our eyes on the blue Don.” 5 6. Se bo Gotsky... ... Dictionary-reference book "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

1) a detachment of warriors who united around a tribal leader, and then a prince (king) and constituted a privileged layer of society. The druzhina military organization is characteristic of the period of decomposition of the clan system and the emergence of the state. The ancients... ... Political science. Dictionary.

TEAM, squads, women. 1. In ancient Rus', the closest princely servants, the most important detachment of the princely army (source). “With his retinue in Constantinople armor, the prince rides across the field on a faithful horse.” Pushkin. || more often plural Army (poetic obsolete). “Repelled by gunfire... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Y, husband. Art. Russian ed. Report: Druzhinich, Druzhinichna. Origin: (Use of the popular noun druzhina as a personal name. Other Russian druzhina ‘comrade’.) Dictionary of personal names ... Dictionary of personal names

Cm … Dictionary of synonyms

Y, m. Art. Russian rare Report: Druzhinich, Druzhinichna. [Use of adverbs. noun squad as a personal name. Dr. Russian squad comrade.] Dictionary of Russian personal names. N. A. Petrovsky. 2011… Dictionary of personal names

He is as necessary an element in ancient Russian society as the Prince. Both as a guardian of the volost from external enemies, and as an organizer of internal order, the Prince needs a whole group of assistants. These assistants of the prince make up D. Hence... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

TEAM- originally a princely army, formed on a voluntary basis and having the rights of self-government. The “prince's squad,” although smaller, was nevertheless the main, central part of the entire mass of warriors. In peacetime, vigilantes... ... Legal encyclopedia

1) a detachment of warriors who united around the tribal leader during the period of decomposition of the clan system, and then the prince (king) and constituted a privileged layer of society. 2) Armed detachments under the prince in Dr. Russians who participated in wars, government... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Special Forces Squad (set of 4 books), Ivan Alekseev. By decree of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, a secret military camp was created in the Pomeranian forests. It, following the example of ancient Sparta, trains warriors capable of single-handedly resisting...

PRINCE, GUARDS AND MILITAINES

But if push comes to shove,

It’s shameful for a leader to give in to someone

in valor, shameful squad

do not be like your leader in valor.

Tacitus, "Germany"

The military leader is probably known among all peoples of traditional society who came into contact with other peoples and were forced to fight with them. Initially, he was elective and was chosen for a specific military task. In order to become such a leader, a person had to have a number of qualities - he must be able to fight, be able to manage people, enjoy authority among his fellow tribesmen and have military success. The latter quality showed that the leader was favored by higher powers, which was very important for people of traditional society. Over time, the power of the military leader became hereditary, but was still limited mainly to military issues.

The military leader in Ancient Rus' is the prince.

The prince is traditionally seen as some kind of distant ancestor of the king, the absolute monarch. It seems that he fully manages the affairs of his principality - he resolves issues of war and peace, judges people... In reality, the situation is much more complicated.

The activities of the prince in ancient Russian society were primarily associated with war - the prince was the leader of the army defending this or that land or city. In addition, it was through the figure of the prince that higher powers influenced the life of the community. Without a prince, the ancient Russian city community could not be considered complete; it was vulnerable to both enemies and evil otherworldly forces.

The prince must command the army that protects the community. This army consisted of the princely squad and militia warriors. The prince, as a military leader, must be able to effectively defend the community from attacks by neighbors, or, conversely, successfully organize an attack on neighbors. In addition, it was the prince who most likely supervised the conduct of large ceremonies on holidays of the annual cycle.

If the prince failed to cope with his duties, he could be removed, expelled, and in exceptional cases, killed. The prince in Ancient Rus' was never a full-fledged monarch anywhere; his power was greatly limited by communal traditions.

I. Ya. Bilibin. The epic hero Volga and his squad. Volga Svyatoslavich (or Vseslavich) of Russian epics is a vivid image of a squad leader. He loves his squad, and they are ready to go through thick and thin for him. In the drawing by I. Ya. Bilibin, Volga and his knights are depicted in late military attire: there are yalov flags on their helmets, and the shields are almond-shaped. Helmets of this type are of Middle Eastern origin and appeared only in the 17th century in the arsenal of local cavalry.

Russian princes prepared for military achievements from childhood. At the age of three, the prince was solemnly mounted on a horse, initiating him into a warrior.

On the pages of the chronicle we invariably see a squad around the prince - faithful warriors accompanying their leader in joy and sorrow, in success and failure. The warriors accompany the prince on trips, fight for him in battle, give him advice (for example, warn him of danger), in a word, this is exactly the squad - friends on whom the prince can always rely and who form the core of the ancient Russian army in the event of a big war.

Among the warriors, the prince occupied the position of “first among equals.” The warriors were ready to follow the prince through thick and thin, but the prince also understood his dependence on the warriors and treated them accordingly. As a rule, he did not have any everyday advantages over his entourage; he personally commanded in battle and took direct part in the battles. It was the prince who had the right to ritually start the battle.

A. M. Vasnetsov. Courtyard of the appanage prince. This is what a princely court might have looked like somewhere in the northeast of Rus' in the 12th century. Log buildings at this time could reach a considerable height - this can be judged from the materials of excavations in Novgorod. However, the church with graceful onion domes in the background of the picture dates back to a much later time - the artist used images of the architecture of the Russian North of the 17th–18th centuries.

A warrior could not be hired for a fee; he went to serve the prince, guided by other principles; Here, the personal charisma and military merits of the prince played a role primarily. “I can’t fit a squad with gold and silver,” said Svyatoslav’s son Vladimir the Holy, “but with a squad I can fit silver and gold...”.

Perhaps the most expressive of our warrior princes can be considered Svyatoslav Igorevich. By the way, it was during his short but stormy reign that the highest flowering of the “druzhina culture” - the special military entourage of the Rus - occurred.

A brief but very revealing chronicle note about the relationship between the prince and the squad dates back to the time of Svyatoslav. When Princess Olga, Svyatoslav’s mother, who was baptized in Constantinople, urged her son to be baptized, he responded with a categorical refusal, explaining this precisely by the fact that the squad would start laughing at him.

The unity of the prince and the squad was built not only on the personal devotion of the warriors to their leader, but also on purely material things - the well-being of the warriors directly depended on the prince. From time immemorial, a military leader, according to custom, was obliged to feed and support his warriors, and generosity has always been considered one of the most important virtues of a leader. The main source of druzhina income was tribute from subject tribes and military booty. If the prince for some reason did not live up to the expectations of the warriors in terms of reward, the initiative for the next military campaign could come “from below” - for example, at one time Igor’s soldiers persuaded him to go rob the Drevlyans, which led to the death of the prince...

V. M. Vasnetsov. Vladimir Monomakh's hunting holiday. Hunting was a favorite pastime of the Russian princes, a kind of combat training. Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh left in his “Teaching” addressed to children a colorful description of his hunting adventures - he mentions dangerous fights with wild bison bulls and aurochs, deer, and bears.

The prince distributed the treasures obtained in battles among his warriors, gave valuable gifts to the warriors and organized feasts.

The feast for the people of Ancient Rus' was by no means an ordinary drinking bout. It was, in a sense, a sacred act, a repetition of the feast of the gods. For the Scandinavian warriors, the king's feast reproduced the feast that the god of war and victory Odin arranged in Valhalla for the Einherjar warriors who fell in battle. The feast was a window into the world of the gods. So it’s not just drinking intoxicating drinks as such that Svyatoslav’s son Vladimir had in mind when he said: “Rus' has joy in drinking, we cannot exist without it...”.

And one of Vladimir’s sons, the fratricidal prince Svyatopolk the Accursed, once lost a battle because of a friendly feast. At the decisive moment, when it was time to build an army and prepare for battle, Svyatopolk, according to the chronicler, “drank with his squad...”. The result was a military disaster.

“Start thinking with my squad...” The miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle depicts the moment of the presentation of gifts by the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes to Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. The prince decided to consult with his squad about the possibility of continuing the difficult military campaign against the Greeks. The Radziwill Chronicle is a wonderful monument of ancient Russian book art. It was created in the 15th century. The text is illustrated with many miniatures, which are an important visual source for studying the costume of late Rus'. The basis of the text of the Radziwill Chronicle is the Tale of Bygone Years.

Svyatoslav consults with his warriors. Miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle.

Druzhina feasts both in Rus' and Scandinavia were usually organized at the expense of ordinary community members, who owed the prince and the squad protection from enemies. When the hiking season ended, the prince and his retinue set off for Polyudye. This is how the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus describes the polyudie of the Rus:

“The winter and harsh way of life of those same dews is like this. When the month of November comes, their archons immediately leave Kiava with all the Ros and go to polyudium, which is called “circling,” namely, in Slavinia, the Vervians, Druguvites, Krivichi, Severii and other Slavs, who are pactiots of the Ros. Feeding there throughout the winter, they return to Kiaw again, starting in April, when the ice on the Dnieper River melts. Then, just as has been told, taking their monoxyls, they equip them and go to Romagna.”

Drinking horn fitting. Rus', X century An obligatory attribute of squad feasts were drinking horns, bound with sheet silver. They drank from them both in Rus' and Scandinavia. However, among the Slavs, the feasting bull horn had a special meaning - the wild bull-tur was considered the sacred animal of the god Perun, the patron saint of Slavic warriors, and the protector of the entire family of the ancient “Slovenians”.

What is ancient Russian polyudye? This is the oldest method of providing military protection, known both in Rus' and Scandinavia. Turning to Scandinavian sources allows us to clarify a lot.

The polyudya mechanism is simple. There is a military leader (for example, a prince or a king), and he has a squad. These are the permanent military forces of ancient society. They do not plow or sow, but they need to exist somehow - they are fed by the people they protect. The leader and his warriors travel around the “subordinate territory,” stopping briefly in designated places. In our case, these are obviously small Slavic cities - centers of tribal kingdoms. Constantine calls such reigns “Slavinia”, by analogy with the same formations of the early Slavs, whose invasions shook Byzantium in the 6th century. The stopping places of the “Prince of Rus'” could also be special “cemeteries” to which tribute was brought.

Tribute, apparently, was collected precisely in winter, during polyudya - a tour of the Slavic lands. This can be traced quite easily: it is known that the Khazars took tribute from the Slavs “according to the white ververitsa” - the winter squirrel. However, it was the Khazars who could come for tribute in the summer - their main sources of food lay in the Steppe and had nothing to do with the Slavic lands.

The arrival of a prince in a small Slavic town is always an event. They knew about the arrival in advance and prepared a feast for the prince and the warriors accompanying him. Here they collected tribute, traded, resolved litigation, and perhaps even accepted young sons of local community members into the squad. Then the Russians moved on.

The Scandinavian king also spent the winter traveling to feasts. The Scandinavian analogue of polyudya was called “weizla”, i.e. feast, feeding. The kings had a network of their own estates throughout the country, which were managed by specially appointed people from among the warriors or local residents who were awarded such an honor for special merits.

...We don’t know much about the composition of the Russian squad, its internal structure, the relationships of the squads with each other - the chronicle stories are very brief. It is known that the squad was clearly divided into senior and junior. The younger warriors were called “youths” and “children”. According to Scandinavian sources, we know that the younger sons of free community bondsmen, deprived of the right to inherit their father's estates, willingly joined the king's or jarl's squad. Such a junior warrior in Scandinavia was called “drengr”.

K. V. Lebedev. Polyudye. Prince Igor collects tribute from the subject Drevlyans near Iskorosten.

The senior warrior, an experienced, accomplished warrior, was called a “husband,” and for special merits he could become a boyar. Boyars in Rus' in the 10th century. - these are the closest military advisers of the prince, they had their own possessions, and sometimes (like, for example, the governor Igor Sveneld) and their own squads, rivaling the squads of the princes in the wealth of clothing and weapons. It was envy of Sveneld’s dressed-up youths that pushed Igor’s warriors to initiate a predatory campaign against the Drevlyans.

Guard of the Swedish king. Tag, 10th century. The author of the reconstruction is M. Yu. Vladimirsky (Black Raven club, St. Petersburg). Warriors who returned to Scandinavia from Russian lands brought fashions adopted in Rus' to their historical homeland. The warrior, whose costume was restored based on materials from the burials of Hemlanden - the cemetery of the trading city of Birka in Central Sweden - is dressed in a swinging caftan, the belt repeats the steppe patterns. At the same time, Thor's hammer, combat knife-scramasax and windings with hooks are characteristic attributes of a Scandinavian.

Senior warrior in full combat gear. Beginning of the 11th century The author of the reconstruction is S. Kashin-Sveshnikov (St. Petersburg). Actually, Russian forms of weapons and original ornamentation of jewelry appeared by the beginning of the 11th century. Before this, the warriors of the Russian princes used steppe and European things without subjecting them to changes. The warrior in the photograph has a characteristic sword with a cast hilt, created by southern Russian craftsmen, a European spear with protrusions on the socket, a helmet and plate armor that replicate their steppe counterparts.

The epic epic can help us understand the psychological world of the Russian warrior.

The origin of epics is lost in the darkness of centuries. There is no doubt that the basis of the Russian epic is very ancient. In the chronicles and military stories of Ancient Rus', reflections of heroic poetry are sometimes visible - for example, in the famous “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” or in “Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land.” Probably, there was a squad legend about the wars of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, which was reflected in the colorful stories of “The Tale of Bygone Years.”

We also know by name some of the ancient singers. The most famous of them is Boyan.

Sometimes it happened that the epic of pagan times was written down in more or less complete form by Christian scribes. There are many such examples in Europe: here is the Anglo-Saxon “Beowulf”, and the Scandinavian legends about heroes recorded in Iceland, and the German “Song of the Nibelungs”, and the Irish epic tales about the king of the Ulads Conchobar and his warriors, the most glorious of whom was the hero Cuchulainn ...

V. M. Vasnetsov. Boyan. Boyan, mentioned in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” was an unsurpassed master of performing military epics. We usually use the expression “spreading thoughts along the tree” in an ironic sense - to speak verbosely where there is no need to do so. But in the eyes of the author of “The Lay” this is an unambiguous compliment - this is exactly how the famous singer sang, spreading his thoughts across the tree, like a wolf on the ground and an eagle under a cloud. The historical Boyan, if he existed at all, lived in the 11th–12th centuries, in Christian Rus'. The artist depicted the singer with the late psaltery-psaltery; the weapons of the soldiers listening to Boyan also date back to the period of the 14th–16th centuries. Apparently, Boyan sings at a funeral feast - the singer and listeners sit on the top of the mound, in front of them are the brothers and ladles. The young prince in the picture is dressed in a half-open caftan, depicted in the miniature of the “Izbornik 1073” - one of the oldest Russian handwritten books.

In the heroic epic there is always, or almost always, some kind of sovereign, the ruler of the country. Most often, this sovereign is also the main character of the entire epic. He is the first among powerful warriors equal to him, he has magical powers and wisely rules his country. These are, for example, the Kalmyk Dzhangar or the Buryat Abai-Geser.

It also happens that an epic ruler, being surrounded by famous brave men, does not himself have outstanding abilities, and sometimes even finds himself in comical situations. Such a ruler was King Conchobar, the hero of the Irish epic. At the same time, this controversial sovereign is fully respected by his knights; in the epic he often bears honorary titles. The main character of Irish legends, the great warrior Cuchulain, highly revered Conchobar as his educator.

Our epic prince, Vladimir the Red Sun, also belongs to this type of epic ruler, at whose feasts most of the epic plots begin. For example, one of the heroes boasted unsuccessfully - and was forced to prove his boasting with deeds. Someone quarreled with the prince himself because of the unsuccessful distribution of space at the table - for the people of ancient society this was very important! It also happens that a hero, whom everyone considers missing, may appear unrecognized at a feast - and disrupt his wife’s wedding with another hero...

A. P. Ryabushkin. A feast of heroes at the affectionate Prince Vladimir.

Almost all of our epics, to one degree or another, reflected the ancient druzhina spirit. But in our story about Russian vigilantes, we will dwell in detail on only one of them. This epic tells how two heroes - Duke Stepanovich and Churila Plenkovich - competed with each other... in the beauty of their clothes.

Duke Stepanovich came to Kyiv from South-Western Rus', from “Volynets-city, from Galich”. His very name (it probably comes from the Latin “dux” - “prince”, “duke”) inclined scientists in that direction to look for his possible historical double. However, the epic Duke has no direct analogue in real history.

Scientists believe that the epic about Duke and Churil reflected those times when the Russian lands competed and often fought with each other. Duke is not a foreigner, although in relation to Kyiv and the people of Kiev he acts as an alien character. In some ways he is his own, Russian, but in others he is not.

I. E. Repin. Cossacks. Both in the costume and in the appearance of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, some characteristic attributes of the druzhina culture of Rus' were preserved, for example, their hairstyle.

It should be noted that the name “Russian Land” has a double meaning in our ancient chronicles. Firstly, the Russian land is the whole vast Rus'. But in some cases, the Russian land of the chronicler is Kyiv and the adjacent region - modern Northern and Northwestern Ukraine. This “Russian land in the narrow sense of the word” (as historians call it) was for a long time a rival of Galicia-Volyn Rus'.

Duke Stepanovich is very rich. The treasures he owns in Galich cannot be described in three years. At the end of the epic, the people of Kiev, led by Vladimir, find themselves disgraced and humiliated.

Russian warrior costume. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is A. Kovalev (St. Petersburg). The Russian warrior is dressed in a caftan with gold-woven braid, belted with two stacked belts of the steppe appearance. On the belt is a characteristic early medieval saber with a slightly curved blade. The bone point with a miniature dragon's head was most likely used to untie knots, but could also be used for other purposes, for example, as a fork. The fact that this is a Russian is indicated by a fur hat and a massive woven chain made of silver wire on the warrior’s neck. On such chains they could wear both Thor's hammers and Christian symbols - crosses.

Russian warrior. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is D. Kovalev (Black Raven club, St. Petersburg). The costume and weapons of this warrior combine steppe and European elements. The pointed helmet, the swinging caftan with a silk top and the stacked belt are borrowed from the nomads, and the Carolingian sword comes from Western Europe. On the warrior’s feet are low leather boots with windings; boots will appear in Rus' a little later.

Russian warrior costume. X century The author of the reconstruction is S. Mishanin. The costume of this warrior is dominated by steppe elements - a caftan, the cut of which is similar to the cut of North Caucasian swing clothing, a stacked belt, a pointed hat with a silver pommel. However, the skramasak knife on the belt and the boots with windings on the warrior’s feet clearly indicate that this is still a Russian, and not a steppe dweller.

Friendly belt with a bag-tashka. The author of the reconstruction is M. Savinov. The stacked belts of Russian warriors, decorated with plaques, come from the Steppe. A comparison of the ornaments of plaques shows that most of the ancient Russian belts have the closest analogies in Volga Bulgaria; Khazar belts are also known in Rus'. By the end of the 10th century, Russian traditions of making inlaid belts also appeared. The belt shown in the photograph was found during excavations of the Timerevsky burial ground near Yaroslavl, on the Upper Volga. It was fastened with a short insert strap.

The epic clearly reflected the times of power and glory of Galich. Southwestern Rus' reached this position in the second half of the 12th century, when the influence of Kyiv was already greatly undermined.

But let's return to the plot of the epic. The Galician young man, after various trials, finally reached the capital Kyiv. Already when he was driving through the streets of the city to Vladimir's tower the Red Sun, the Kyiv merchants argued whether the first Kiev handsome man, Churila Plenkovich, would surpass this visiting dandy or not? As you can see, by this time Churila had firmly settled down in Kyiv and was clearly perceived as one of his own. “Our Churilushka,” the people of Kiev were now saying about him.

Duke and Churila bet on a hefty sum for medieval Rus' of five hundred rubles:

Pinch and bash them for three years,

Changeable dresses for each day.

The expression “pin-basit” can be translated as “show off”, “show off with clothes.” The heroes of the epic pledged to dress in a new dress every day for three years.

At first glance, such boasting of one’s outfits looks like some kind of unheroic act, unworthy of real warriors. But it's not that simple.

The Russian warrior from the time of the historical Prince Vladimir was distinguished by a special costume, rich and bright. Russian warriors, participants in long campaigns, and also successful merchants, dressed in clothes that an ordinary rural community member or city dweller could never afford.

Competitiveness is characteristic of all warriors around the world - be it the Irish, the Vikings or the ancient Rus. Warriors were always ready to extol their military skill to the detriment of the skill of their neighbor. Sometimes the boasting of brave men at a feast led to cruel, bloody battles. For example, at one time there was a great massacre between the men of Ireland, who argued over the honorable duty of sharing a roasted boar at a feast.

In ancient Iceland there was a kind of game. The feasters chose their “husbands for comparison” from among well-known leaders and praised them, not themselves. The opponent had to prove that his candidate was superior to the opponent's candidate.

There is no reason to doubt that the warriors of Kievan Rus also bullied each other at feasts. And they also boasted of their weapons and rich outfits. Echoes of this boast can be heard in the dispute between Duke and Churila.

So, the heroes got down to business. The whole of Kyiv vouched for Churila in this dispute. But no one wanted to vouch for Duke. Then the Galician went to the tavern and rolled out three barrels of wine to the regulars. And the tavern goals vouched for him.

For three years both of them regularly changed their clothes. Finally, the last day came. Churila and Duke dressed in their best outfits, and Churila was outfitted by the whole of Kiev.

The first dandy of the Kyiv land appeared in a classic squad costume - morocco boots, a caftan with “braids”, that is, with decorations woven from gold wire. The buttons on Churila’s caftan are also gold.

Belt of a Russian warrior. X century The author of the reconstruction kit is V. Ostromentsky (Gromovnik club, Moscow). In one of the squad burials of the Gnezdovo burial ground, a belt was found that has no direct analogues either in Rus' or in the nearby steppe regions. The plaques of this belt are made in the form of cat faces. The belt did not have a buckle and was tied using special laces equipped with small brass tips.

There is a version of the epic in which the fasteners of the Kievite’s caftan are made in the form of figures of young men and maidens - when the caftan is fastened, the figures hug each other...

Instead of boots, Duke put on... bast shoes, common people's shoes, completely dishonorable! True, Duke's bast shoes are silk, and precious stones are woven into his socks. Instead of a caftan (or perhaps over it), the Galician hero put on a sable fur coat. The buttons of the fur coat are made in the shape of lions, and there are snakes in the loops.

In appearance, the heroes' outfits are equally rich, but there is one nuance - Duke's clothes are magical! When Duke enters the church, the lions and snakes come to life and make monstrous roars and whistles. Many ancient magical rituals are associated with dressing, and it is very likely that it was this ancient magic of clothing that was reflected in the epic.

So which of the two outstanding braggarts won the competition? The people of Kiev, having listened to the roar and whistle of the magical animals on Duke’s fur coat, decisively declared:

Thank you, Duke Stepanovich!

I pinched Plenkov's Churilushkuty!

Duke took away Churila’s deposit of five hundred rubles and began to mock his defeated opponent:

Basi, Churilo, in front of the women,

In front of women and girls,

And with us, well done guys, you’re on top!

But the epic is still a fiction, although it has an ancient real basis. The time has come to take a closer look at the Russian “druzhina culture” of the 10th century, as archeology depicts it for us.

Tashka bag. Rus', X century The author of the reconstruction is V. Kachaev. Such handbags of steppe origin came into use among Russian warriors in the 10th century. Their front side was decorated with cast overlays of various shapes. The bag shown in the photograph comes from a burial ground near the village. Shestovitsa near Chernigov.

Like weapons, the costume of the Russian warrior from the times of Svyatoslav’s campaigns absorbed various traditions of the peoples neighboring Russia. Most of all, the ancient Russian druzhina costume was influenced by the customs of the peoples of the Great Steppe - the Khazars, Hungarians, as well as the Volga Bulgars - a sedentary people who lived on the territory of modern Tatarstan.

Men's suit of the 10th century. both in Rus' and in Scandinavia it most often included a shirt, trousers and a cloak. For some time now, the caftan has become a permanent part of the costume of the Russian warrior. This swinging clothing, convenient for riding, has been known since ancient times in the Steppe, the North Caucasus, and the Middle East. Kaftans in Rus' in the 10th century are found precisely in the monuments of druzhina culture - the mounds of Gnezdov, Timerev, the Shestovitsa burial ground near Chernigov and in the druzhina mounds of Chernigov itself.

It is not yet possible to say exactly which kaftans - Alan, Turkic or Middle Eastern - the kaftans of Rus' come from. The closest analogy to Russian caftans can be considered the North Caucasian Alan caftans, well known from the Moshchevaya Balka burial ground. In high mountain conditions, organic matter is well preserved, so kaftans and many other items from Moshchevaya Balka have reached us in excellent condition for their age (the burial ground dates back to the 8th–9th centuries) and have provided a lot of valuable information about the materials, cut and decoration of ancient clothing.

The kaftans of Moshchevaya Balka are made mostly of linen; in addition, there are silk kaftans. One of the side sections of the Great Silk Road passed through the Moshchevaya Balka area, and the residents of this area had access to high-quality Chinese and Iranian fabrics. Many caftans are lined with fur: among the poor, with sheepskin, and the richest caftan of the burial ground, with a top made of imported silk, had a lining of squirrel fur.

Caftans of the North Caucasus are swinging, their hem was cut out separately from the top and widened downwards. They were fastened with small buttons, from which narrow braids made of colored braid or silk fabric spread across the chest of the caftan.

The material of Russian caftans is much less known to us - as a rule, only a set of buttons remains from the caftan in burials. The number of buttons could reach 17–20 pieces.

The best preserved caftan from the Gnezdovsky burial mound Dn-4 is the best preserved. What remained of the caftan was the chest part with two rows of braid made from rolls of silk. The top of the caftan was wool, and the lining (at least in the surviving part) was leather.

Although the caftan from Gnezdov does not match the caftans of Moshchevaya Balka in its materials, it is still structurally similar to them. But in Rus' there is also a completely different type of caftan, not of Caucasian, but of Hungarian origin. We are talking about a caftan from the Gulbishche mound in Chernigov.

A man outstanding in all respects was buried in the mound. This was a noble warrior, a contemporary of Prince Svyatoslav and, perhaps, a participant in his campaigns. Judging by the size of the helmet and stirrups found in this mound, the warrior was almost two meters tall. As we have already described in the chapter devoted to the weapons of Russian warriors, it was in the Gulbishche mound that the largest Carolingian sword in Europe, more than a meter long, was found. But now we are interested in the caftan from this mound.

The caftan from Gulbische follows Hungarian designs. It has no braid or buttons. It was fastened with several pairs of cast diamond-shaped overlays decorated with krins - stylized images of lilies. In each pair, one pad has a small hook, and the other has a ring into which the hook was inserted. The overlays were cast from brass and gilded. Caftans with similar fasteners are well known from Hungarian material.

Tashka bag. Hungary, 10th century For bags of this type, the entire front surface was covered with a chased silver plate.

Perhaps the brightest, most characteristic detail of the Russian warrior’s costume was the belt.

Belts decorated with plaques are called inlaid by archaeologists. Since ancient times, the printed belt has been a characteristic detail of the steppe costume, and by the 10th century it became widespread among Russian warriors - along with caftans, steppe helmets, hammered axes, and sabers.

Old Russian typesetting belts experienced their heyday in the 10th century. But even later they did not go out of use. Thus, belts with precious metals are mentioned in the grand ducal spiritual charters (wills) of the 14th–15th centuries.

The warrior's belt was a symbol of his position in the society of Ancient Rus'. In the burials of Russian warriors, belts are found along with expensive weapons, caftans, and fragments of expensive clothing trim. Typically, a belt set consisted of a buckle, several plaques and a tip. There are also complex belts, with several types of plaques, the total number of which can reach several dozen. Such belts (their design was borrowed from the Hungarians) were fastened with a small insert strap, and the main end of the belt, decorated with plaques, hung freely, or, perhaps, was laid in a certain way on itself.

Belt plaques have a wide variety of shapes and a wide variety of ornaments: crin-lilies, trefoils, floral curls, geometric figures... Most plaques are brass, and tin-plated belt sets are often found. But silver belts were very rare.

In their ornaments and shape, the plaques and tips of the belts of the 10th century copy steppe samples. A significant part of Old Russian belt decorations comes from Volga Bulgaria, but belts with Khazar ornaments are also found (though very rarely). In the second half of the 10th century. Chernigov land also developed its own tradition of making belt overlays - inlaid with silver. Grooves were cut into plaques cast from brass, into which silver wire was then carefully hammered.

Knives, chairs, whetstones, as well as small bags decorated with metal plaques or chased plates were hung from the belt. The origin of handbags is Hungarian, and among Russian warriors they became as widespread as printed belts. Together with inlaid belts and steppe hammered axes, these bags are also found in the Swedish Birka, confirming the strong connection between Rus' and Scandinavia.

Most military bags have a large diamond patch on the lid with a slot in the center. A brass bracket entered the slot, into which a narrow strap was passed, entirely decorated with small plaques. Four rhombic rosette plaques were fastened around the central plaque; small triangular plates could be attached along the entire edge of the bag. The overall size of the handbag was very small - no more than 12–14 cm in length and width.

There are also very miniature bags for coins in Rus', having a lyre-shaped shape - with an extension towards the top. The edges of such bags were bound with brass strips, and the bags were hung from the belt using two rings. These mini-wallets were fastened with small buttons.

A grained silver pommel that adorned the cap of a Russian warrior. Such pommels of Hungarian origin not only spread throughout Rus', but also reached Swedish Birka.

In Scandinavia, the custom of wearing massive bracelets made of silver and gold was common among warriors. Such bracelets were not only decoration, but also a container of wealth - silver was calculated by weight. In Rus', there are no similar finds in the burials of warriors, but it cannot be ruled out that our soldiers could wear twisted silver hryvnia hoops, well known from ancient Russian treasures.

A massive square ring made of gold was found in one of the military mounds of the Timerevo burial ground.

An ancient Russian warrior is usually depicted wearing boots. In relation to the 12th - 13th centuries, this is probably true. But the warriors of the times of the first princes - the Rurikovichs did not wear boots. The fashion for these steppe shoes appeared in our country somewhere around the turn of the 10th–11th centuries, and by the 12th century boots were already being mass-produced in the workshops of ancient Russian cities.

The early boot had a low, straight boot made of two halves - front and back. Later, more complex forms of these shoes appeared - with a boot that widened upward and was cut from several parts. The toe of the boot became sharper, and the sole became multi-layered - it was assembled from several layers of thin leather. Even later, in the 14th century, the boot appeared with a low heel.

The most popular ancient Russian footwear, as far as we can judge from materials from excavations in Russian cities, were low leather shoes. They consisted of two parts - the top and the sole. The top of the shoe was sewn either on the side or along the toe. The top was sewn together with a special stitch, without piercing the skin through. There are also somewhat more primitive Scandinavian shoes in Rus' with not so sophisticated straight seams - the edges of the stitched parts were simply overlapped and stitched with small, neat stitches. The shoe was secured to the foot with narrow straps.

Russian warrior costume. X century The author of the reconstruction is S. Mishanin. This costume is not so rich - it lacks expensive silk fabrics and silver jewelry. Apparently, before us is a junior warrior who has not yet managed to distinguish himself in long campaigns. The costume, which is based on a shirt and trousers, is traditional for both Slavs and Scandinavians. A belt with plaques and a steppe handbag indicate belonging to a druzhina community; in addition, a warrior’s shirt dyed with madder serves as an indicator of a certain wealth.

Fibula - fastener of a man's cloak. Rus', X century The author of the reconstruction is M. Savinov. Horseshoe-shaped brooches were very widespread in Eastern and Northern Europe. They were worn by Scandinavians, Slavs, Finns, and Balts. The fibula shown in the photo belongs to a type of fibula popular in Rus' with multifaceted heads at the ends of the arc. Such brooches first appeared in southwestern Finland, from where they spread throughout all the lands adjacent to the Baltic Sea.

...A squad is a permanent elite army, always ready for battle, which can solve problems of a certain scale - go on a raid, collect tribute, carry out a profitable trade campaign. But when it comes to major operations, such as raids on Constantinople-Constantinople, a less brilliant, but incomparably more powerful force inevitably comes to the fore - the militia of free community members.

The peasant community is perhaps the most resilient social organism. Of course, over the centuries it changed - it lost ownership of land, the right to bear and use weapons, received new owners, new taxes and duties, but its ancient basis, that very “solving all matters together,” lasted until the 20th century.

The community in Rus' is the measure of everything. Every person (with rare exceptions) of Ancient Rus' recognized himself as belonging to some community. A small collective of farmers is a community. A city with a population of several thousand people is also a community. Several cities with surrounding villages, whose inhabitants are aware of their kinship and descend from common ancestors, is also a community that will act as a single entity on the international stage.

But all of Ancient Rus' no longer recognized itself as a single community.

Decisions in any community, as we already know, were made jointly or, in scientific terms, collegially. The institution that governed the community had different names among ancient peoples, the general term used by scientists to designate these institutions is “national assembly.” The Slavs called such a meeting “veche”.

Belarusian clothes. XIX century Watercolor by F. G. Solntsev. The costume of the Slavic peoples changed over time, but its general outline and main details remained intact. The Belarusian peasants in the drawing by F. G. Solntsev are dressed in linen shirts and trousers, the peasants have felt hats on their heads, pistons on their feet, and characteristic low shoes cut from one piece of leather. Like the ancient Slavs, clothes do not have pockets - everything you need is carried on the belt.

North Russian militia. X century The author of the reconstruction is R. Potapov (Ladoga club, St. Petersburg). This is what the son of a community member might have looked like, accepted into the junior squad during the autumn polyudnye. The basis of the weapons of the militias from the Slavic and Finnish tribes were spears and axes; defensive weapons most often came down to a plank shield.

Slavic warrior. X century The author of the reconstruction is O. Rublev (Ladoga club, St. Petersburg). In the hand of a warrior - typical for Rus' of the 10th century. light battle axe. A shirt dyed with madder is an indicator of wealth. Most likely, our hero already has experience of long-distance campaigns, for example, in the army of Prince Igor. On the warrior’s neck is an amulet made from a drilled bear fang; archaeologists often find such amulets during excavations of Slavic settlements.

The first association with the word “veche” is Novgorod. There it remained in force for a long time, which is why it is the Novgorod veche that is most famous and, we add, best studied. But in all other cities of Rus' there was a veche, it’s just less known about it. When our chronicle talks about how the people of Kiev or some other townspeople “thought,” “consulted,” etc., it means precisely the veche.

Not every resident of an ancient Russian city or village could attend or speak at the meeting. The Veche, like, for example, the Scandinavian Thing, is primarily a meeting of the heads of families, and on a tribal scale, the heads of clans.

Military power is also in the hands of the community itself. Weapons in Slavic (as, indeed, in Celtic, Baltic and Scandinavian society) were not the privilege of the elite. The entire people were armed, each family had a warrior (or even more than one), who could, if necessary, take part in repelling the enemy or in an attack on a neighbor.

It is the tribal militias that the Tale of Bygone Years describes, talking about the great campaigns of the first Russian princes.

The squad in this case formed something like an officer corps. Here, for example, is the composition of Oleg’s campaign in 907:

“Oleg went to the Greeks, left Igor in Kyiv, while singing many Varangians, and Slovenians, and Chud... and Krivichi, and Meryu, and Derevlyans, and Radimichi, and Polyany, and Severo, and Vyatichi, and Croats, and Dulebs, and Tivertsi... and with these and everyone Oleg went on horseback and on ships...”

The huge army included tribal militias of both northern and southern East Slavic tribes; Finnish militias also took part in the campaign to the rich shores. This is exactly that rare case when the entire space of Rus' from Novgorod to Kyiv appeared as something unified.

So, we got acquainted with the organization of the Russian army, the same army that, from the second half of the 9th century, began to make large military campaigns in the southern seas - the Black and Caspian. We will find out how these campaigns went in the next chapter.

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BE) by the author TSB

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Prince Prince, head of a feudal monarchical state or a separate political entity (specific K.) in the 9th-16th centuries. among the Slavs and some other peoples; representative of the feudal aristocracy; later - a noble title. Initially K. is a tribal leader,

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From the book 100 great Russians author Ryzhov Konstantin Vladislavovich

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YURI DOLGORUKY (?-1157), Prince of Suzdal and Grand Duke of Kiev 22 Come to me, brother, in Moscow. An invitation sent to the Novgorod-Seversk prince Svyatoslav Olgovich in 1147. This first written mention of Moscow was preserved in the Ipatiev Chronicle. ? PSRL. – M.,

Their bows are drawn,

The quivers are open

Their sabers are sharpened,

Sheloms are gilded.

They themselves gallop across the field like wolves

And always ready to fight,

Mined with sharp swords

To the prince - glory, honors - to yourself

(The Tale of Igor's Campaign)

From antiquity

The phenomenon of a squad - a group of warriors isolated from the community, personally loyal to the leader and constantly ready to fight - has been known at least since the 1st century BC, including thanks to the notes of Gaius Julius Caesar. At the end of the 1st century AD. Tacitus in “Germania” described the Germanic “comes” (companions) in sufficient detail. From “Germany” we can glean the necessary information about the institution of the ancient squad.

According to Tacitus, “no one is ashamed to be in someone’s squad.” The squad is the support of the leader in times of peace and war. It consists of the most courageous warriors of the tribe, connected to the leader by bonds of personal devotion (“...to come out alive from the battle in which the leader fell is dishonor and shame...”). The squad lives by war and is largely above the interests of its own tribe. Tacitus reports that the squad is ready to go to war in the interests of other tribes if their own “stalks into idleness.”

From the story of Tacitus we can conclude that by the end of the 1st century AD. The German squad was already a kind of isolated social group, supported by the leader and living under the leader at the expense of military spoils. This institution did not fit into the framework of the old tribal system. The principles of recruitment and life activity eliminated the squad from the clan and territorial community structure. The squad became a source for the formation of a new nobility - the servants. Thanks to the squad, “military princes”, that is, leaders whose power was supported by physical strength, will come to the fore in the era of the great migration of peoples.

Modern researchers have virtually no doubt about the fact that the German squad was not unique. “Home wars”, “companions” and other analogues of “comites” also existed among representatives of other European nations: “war-bands” in Britain, “guerriers domestiques” in France. Pyotr Stefanovich, for example, concluded that “such a squad is an international, universal-historical phenomenon, as confirmed by the research of ethnologists... This “domestic” squad is an elementary social form that can arise independently in different places at different stages of social development...” Not The Slavic tribes were an exception.

Slavic squad

“Druzhina” is a term known since ancient times in most Slavic languages. The word “druzhina,” which obviously goes back to the word “friend,” may well mean “any large or small community or partnership” (M.Ya. Dyakonov). The “peaceful” use of the word, which is unusual for us, was already recorded in the ancient texts of the Cyril and Methodius cycle.

The squad feasts on the shore

The life of Constantine (St. Cyril), written shortly after his death in 869, describes an episode of an attack on the Khazar embassy, ​​which was headed by a missionary. Constantine and his companions were captured by the Hungarians, but “by God’s command they subdued him and released him with all his retinue.” The missionary, of course, did not have any “squad” in the classical sense of the term, otherwise the soldiers would have resisted. The Hungarians attacked the people of the embassy who were not a military detachment - servants, assistants and, possibly, several armed guards. The squad here is the entire embassy.

In later literature, the original use of the term “druzhina” in the meaning of “companion” and “comrade” gradually gives way to a purely military meaning. “Druzhina” can mean an entire army, this term can be used to mark “friends” on the battlefield, but most often we will be talking about the prince’s associates, his personal detachment. In the article, we will use the term “squad” to mean the classical meaning - a special detachment of princely warriors.

The first documentary mentions of Slavic squads date back to the 6th-7th centuries and coincide with the collapse of the tribal structure of the Slavs and the transition to territorial and political unifications. In the “War with the Goths” by Procopius of Caesarea, a selected and small Slavic army appears that invaded Byzantium in 549. In "Miracles of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica" mentions the "flower of the tribes", the "selected and experienced in military affairs" Slavic army attacking Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki). Both treatises indirectly tell us about squads, i.e. detachments of professional warriors: small in number, heavily armed, experienced and organized. However, from this description we cannot draw any conclusions regarding the form of the relationship between these warriors and the prince. The distinctive feature of the warrior was not his military qualities, but his closeness to the prince. We find the first more or less detailed description of such relationships later - in the 10th century.

The oldest news about a special princely detachment is considered to be an excerpt from the work of the Arab diplomat Ibn Fadlan, who described his embassy to Volga Bulgaria in 922. On the pages of Risala, Ibn Fadlan also described “Rus”, those whom we call vigilantes: “One of the customs of the king of the Rus is that with him in his very high castle there are always four hundred men from among the heroes, his associates, and the reliable people among them who are with him die at his death and are killed because of him... These four hundred sit and sleep at night at the foot of his bed.”.

This description fits the definition of a squad, i.e. a military machine, relying on which the princes will build a military state in Rus' - a “druzhina state”. We read in Temushev’s article “The Role of Ruling Dynasties in the Development of Early Slavic States”: “This military machine, acting at the direction of the prince, performs three tasks: guaranteeing his powerful position in the state, strengthening the position of the state in international relations, ensuring the security of all residents, especially the ruling elite.”

What is an ancient Russian squad? How many warriors does it include and how does it live? Providing for the “squad” fell entirely on the shoulders of the prince. He provided his people with weapons and horses, which already distinguished the princely army from the militia. Probably, in the 10th-11th centuries we can talk about a permanent detachment of ~200 people among ordinary princes and ~800-1000 soldiers at the disposal of the Kyiv prince.

The warrior was provided with housing, weapons and a salary, which at the beginning of the 11th century was about 6-7 hryvnia per year (versus 10 in the service of the Byzantine emperor). The chronicle tells us about the refusal in 1014 of Yaroslav the Wise (at that time the Novgorod prince) to pay 2000 hryvnia to his father in Kyiv. There is also such a phrase in the chronicle: “and we will distribute a thousand in Novgorod.” Those. a thousand hryvnia went to the gridirs as a salary. Of the total amount of 3000 hryvnia - the collected tribute. From this description it is easy to conclude that the prince “stimulated” the devotion of people with a third of his income. How did his squad pay the prince, what role did they play?

Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky concludes that “the squad was the guarantor of the implementation of the prince’s decisions and compliance with the agreements reached with his participation. She could perform both police (internal) and “foreign policy” functions to protect the tribes that invited this prince from violence from neighbors. In addition, the prince, with her support, could exercise control over the most important routes of transit international trade.”

Warriors of Svyatoslav's squad in Bulgaria, 2nd half of the 10th century

The princely squad took part in the military campaigns of their prince, and in embassies, in “ambushes” (i.e., they carried out garrison service), lived in public, i.e. collection of taxes. The squad regularly organized a “circle”, traveling around the “controlled” territory and collecting a certain amount from the “smoke”, “rawl or plow” in favor of the prince.

Matvey Lyubavsky, in his famous course of lectures on ancient Russian history, described Polyudye as follows: “... In the month of November, as soon as the winter route was established, the Kyiv princes went to Polyudye in all their volosts; They collected tribute mostly in kind, immediately carrying out justice and reprisals. The whole winter passed in this wandering, and only in April, when the Dnieper was opened, did the princes return to Kyiv, followed by tribute, which was immediately sent on boats to Constantinople for sale.”

The collected funds were divided by the prince among the warriors “for weapons.” A similar system was mentioned by Tacitus, who described the Germans’ offerings of gifts to fellow warriors. Moreover, it is important to understand that the collection of polyudya was emphasized by the voluntariness of what was happening. People gave gifts to the prince and his squad. These gifts consisted of both cash of all possible denominations - from hryvnia (silver bars) to "shchelyag" coins, as well as valuable furs.

In addition to polyudye, tribute was collected, which, from the point of view of a modern person, differed little from racketeering: “I sent an ambassador to Radimichi, shouting: “Who are you giving tribute to?” They decided: “Kozar.” And Oleg said to them: “Don’t give it to the kozar, but give it to me.” And Dasha Olgovi is a shelyag, just as he is a kozar giver.”.

The warriors of the 10th century had an interest in weapons and precious metals (as evidenced by finds in the “combat mounds”), but were not at all interested in land as a form of property. In the 10th century, the warriors had no patrimonial land ownership and no interest in land. The warriors, apparently, were not averse to fighting, and conflicts among them were regulated in detail by the squad law, which had “criminal” articles (“vira” for murder, injuries, beatings), but completely ignored economic relations.

Spears from the burial mounds

The “Rotten Skin” saga tells us details about the cruel customs in the militia environment. The illegitimate son of King Olav, Magnus, was sent to “Gardarika” to the court of Yaroslav and was raised among his warriors: “One warrior, quite elderly, did not like him, and one day, when the boy was walking along the tables and approached that warrior, he put his hand up to him and knocked him off the table and declared that he did not want his presence...

And that same evening, when the king had gone to bed, the boy was again in the chamber, and while the warriors were still sitting there and drinking, then Magnus approached that warrior and held a small ax in his hand and he dealt the warrior a mortal blow. Some of his comrades wanted to immediately take the boy and kill him and thus avenge that warrior, but some opposed and wanted to experience how much the king loved him[the king was informed of what had happened]. “Royal work, son,” he says and laughed. “I will pay vira for you.” Then the king comes to an agreement with the relatives of the murdered man and immediately pays the viru...".

Land, which had no value without population, was not an attractive reward for warriors. Danilevsky writes that “the combatants’ complaints were focused on any external signs of wealth; the conversation never turned to land grants.” Due to the lack of value of the land (in isolation from its cultivation) in Rus', feudal relations developed somewhat differently than in Western Europe, where relations were based on bonuses to soldiers mainly with land plots.

The warriors were gifted by the prince and fed by him (literally): “Behold, he works again for his people throughout the week; set up a feast in the courtyard in the gridnice and come to the bolyars and the gridems and the sats and the ten and the deliberate husband, with the prince and without the prince: there was a lot of meat and from livestock and from animals, there was an abundance of everything.”.

Unity over bread was just as important as the act of giving. They consolidated the relationship between the prince and the warrior.

Gurevich describes the specifics of property in ancient Russian society: “The right of ownership did not consist in the right of unlimited possession and free disposal. Owning property presupposed its use... the exchange of things was irrational. It was not the object itself that had value, it was the persons in whose possession it was found, and the very act of transferring the property.”

Kyiv warrior, 10th century

The everyday closeness of the prince and the warriors was a distinctive feature of intra-squad relationships in the 10th-11th centuries; the loyalty of the squad was based on this. This form was typical for any squad - Scandinavian or Russian. We read in the Icelandic saga: “The king thanked Gunnlaug for the song and, as a reward for it, gave him a purple cloak, lined with the best fur and trimmed with gold on the front. He made Gunnlaug his warrior.". Receiving an item from the hands of an illustrious leader, a warrior shares in his glory and fortune and gains a closer connection with him.

The squad turned into a classic “small group”. Khlevov in “Druzhina of the North” described this phenomenon as follows: “... It seems productive to evaluate the squad from the point of view of the criteria of social psychology. A structure of a marginal group was created similar to a modern criminal group. Marginalization and self-awareness..."

Junior and senior squads

“Ognishchane” (member of the princely hearth), “men” and “grid” (from the Scandinavian gridi - comrade, bodyguard) together made up the princely squad. There are many druzhina terms in the chronicles - these are “children’s”, “youths”, “boyars”, “men”, “ognishchane”. Often these terms are used as interchangeable synonyms, but sometimes they are contrasted (for example: youths and squad). There is no doubt only about the word “grid” - it is used only in relation to military servants, that is, it means that same military princely detachment.

From the first days of its existence, the squad was not a homogeneous structure. Hierarchy, noted by Tacitus regarding the German squad, was also characteristic of the Old Russian squad. And this hierarchy was in constant motion, the meaning of terms changed, something was added, something died off: “The internal differentiation of the squad environment was significant and developed in the X-XII centuries. fast".

Initially, druzhina law (“The Most Ancient Truth”) did not know gradations of status within the druzhina, but in fact, stratification among warriors was observed already in the 10th century. This is clearly visible thanks to archaeological data. Druzhina mounds indicate a strong stratification of property among the warriors.

It is customary to divide the Slavic squad into two main categories: senior and junior, although the “grid” is periodically allocated to the middle layer. Many modern researchers, in particular Stefanovich, propose to consider only “grid” as a squad in the sense of the prince’s military servants. According to this concept, what we call the “senior” squad is a layer of Russian military service nobility as such, not associated with the squad organization.

The squad as a whole could also consist of people who were “inherited” by the prince from his father or the city, young people of different origins, and completely dependent servants. They were all part of the squad, but had different statuses. Not all were military servants; many performed administrative or domestic functions. The “senior squad” can refer to the father’s warriors, while the “junior squad” refers to the “friends” of the young prince, that is, his peers and literally friends. Often, large and small squads were literally understood as large and small military detachments.

According to classical ideas, the senior squad (“big squad”, “otnya squad”, “best”, “first”, “oldest”, etc.) is the highest stratum of the squad, consisting of boyars, and the “young squad” is gridi, youths and children.

Prince with his squad

Boyars is a term that can designate both the elite elite of the squad and, in general, the highest nobility of Rus'. Initially, they apparently were directly dependent on the prince, but gradually a layer of “zemstvo boyars” began to emerge.

The boyars, like all warriors, always had freedom of choice - i.e. the right to “move away”. The ancient German squads were organized in such a way that it was unprofitable for the squad member to leave his prince; he was deprived of weapons and half of the “jointly acquired” property. In Rus', apparently, such a practice did not exist. The warriors could freely leave the princes, and moreover, they often retained their property only if they remained in one or another location after the departure of their squad. The death of a warrior did not entail the deprivation of his family's property; it was passed on by inheritance (including through the female line).

The boyars gradually settled in the cities. From the XI-XII centuries. the princes began to grant land to the upper layer of the squad, the boyars acquired estates and, while remaining a service class, moved away from the classical form of the squad organization.

Gradually, the original meaning of the term “boyar” as a representative of the highest druzhina layer became blurred. This is how this process is described in a lecture by Matvey Lyubavsky: “Ownership of affairs began to firmly tie the princely warriors to the given land, and they usually began to remain in it even when their prince left. We saw with what feeling Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich told his warriors that they followed him from the Russian land, having lost their “villages and lives.” It is clear that such an act was already a great self-sacrifice. As a rule, the boyars who owned the villages preferred to remain in the land even after the prince left it. These settled boyars, by instinct of self-preservation, had to closely adhere to local society and became the zemstvo class.”

The “younger squad” consisted of youths and children. The term youths at different times and in different circumstances could mean both junior warriors and the prince’s personal servants. Initially, it actually denoted the young age of the warrior and could well have referred to a person who was not free, perhaps a prisoner.

Children's were also part of the junior squad, but this term never meant personal servants. Often the “children” were princely officials. Children, apparently, gradually began to play the role that at the dawn of the druzhina organization was played by the boyars, who turned into patrimonial landowners, i.e. became the military and social support of their prince.

Ethnic composition

The ethnic composition of the squad was not homogeneous, but the Slavic element clearly predominated. An analysis of the “squad mounds” showed the ratio of typically Scandinavian and typically Slavic burials to be one to seven.

Roerich's painting "Overseas Guests"

In the formation of the squad, the Scandinavians initially had an important, perhaps formative, role. Temushev, for example, comes to this conclusion based on the etymology of the names of Rurik’s “brothers” - Sineus and Truvor: “sine hus - “one’s kind”, thru varing - “faithful squad”. At the same time, there is no doubt about the gradual erosion of the Scandinavian core, because the prince could accept a representative of any tribe into the squad, whose ties were opposed to consanguineous and communal ones. Ethnicity was not of decisive importance.

We read in the lecture of Ivan Dmitrievich Belyaev: “... Oleg, leaving Novgorod, accepted into his squad hunters from Novgorodians, Krivichs and Finns, and Igor, Svyatoslav and Vladimir accepted into the squad without distinction, anyone who wanted to join it. Thus, the composition of the squad under these princes was very diverse: there were Varangians, Finns, Slavs, Pechenegs, Yatvingians

Reception into the warriors was accompanied by certain rituals. A warrior who wanted to enter the service of the prince came to the princely governor, who brought him to the prince and his squad. The prince and his squad asked him what his origin was and what feats he had accomplished, in order to assign him a worthy degree in service and salary based on his origin and exploits. The epic talks about it like this: “Tell me, well done, who is your family and tribe? Your place will be given according to your race, your place according to your tribe.". When announcing his exploits, the warrior had to confirm them with proof of his strength.”

You need to understand that the “Varangians” actively participated in the campaigns and civil strife of the Russian princes, but for the most part they were considered as mercenaries. For example, the Norwegian Eimund served in Gardarik (in Rus') to King Yaritsleiv (Yaroslav), and his people received an eurir per month (the helmsman - 1.5 eurir). They remained “Varangians”, i.e. mercenaries who took an oath of allegiance. It is noteworthy that the Scandinavian tradition itself did not know series of treaties.

The princely squad, in turn, was, regardless of ethnic origin, “Rus” (until the 12th century, the word “Rus” did not have a state-territorial concept). E.A. Melnikova, in her analysis of “Edmund’s Saga,” comes to the conclusion that “the Scandinavian squads were considered by Yaroslav only as a hired fighting force, used as needed in internecine (sometimes interstate) struggle. The chronicles, like the saga, characterize the Varangians primarily as a professional part of the Russian princely army, as executors of the will of one or another Russian prince in whose service they were; their interests were limited to purely material factors.”

Scandinavian mercenary

Any warrior could become a member of the squad, regardless of origin and social status. In this sense, the druzhina structure was the most open (at least in the initial period) social unit. Service in the squad was attractive for a person who was ready to change his lifestyle to an almost nomadic one. The easiest way to achieve social success was in two ways: by joining a squad or in trade (which the warriors, who had access to military spoils and selling tribute, were almost more actively involved in than war).

“The Tale of Bygone Years” tells us about the feat of a nameless young man who defeated the Pecheneg hero in hand-to-hand combat in 992. Prince Vladimir and his retinue met the Pechenegs on the Trubezh River. The warring parties were afraid to cross the river, and after standing, the Pecheneg prince suggested that Vladimir put up a warrior for a duel, which was supposed to decide the outcome of the raid. In the entire Russian army there were no hunters for battle, and one “old man” offered his youngest son as a wrestler, who was distinguished by his “average body” but phenomenal strength (once, in a fit of rage, he tore a piece of tanned leather).

“...they grabbed each other and began to squeeze each other tightly, and Pechenezhin’s husband strangled him to death with his hands. And threw him to the ground. And our people called, and the Pechenegs ran, and the Russians chased after them, beating them, and drove them away.” The young man achieved victory for the prince, proving his strength, and instantly turned from a craftsman (kozhemyaki) into a “great man,” i.e. princely warrior.

The warriors received a reward from the prince, but the monetary component in the relationship between the squad and the prince was not dominant: “gold and silver cannot buy a squad.” Scandinavians were not included in the permanent composition of Russian squads very often - they served in Rus' usually as part of the “established contingent” of free squads, whose goal was to earn money. Gorsky, in his work “The Old Russian Squad,” noted that “detachments of Varangian mercenaries cannot be considered Old Russian squads. We can talk about the entry of the Scandinavians into the ranks of the ancient Russian military nobility only if they settled in Rus'.”

The same idea was expressed back in the 19th century by Ivan Dmitrievich Belyaev: “newcomers rarely stayed to live in Russian soil; They usually, having made several campaigns with the prince and enriched themselves with booty, went back to Scandinavia.”

Gorsky presents the results of an analysis of narrative sources dating back to the 10th-11th centuries. The analysis shows that out of 15 names, only four are of non-Slavic origin (2 Scandinavian and 2 Turkic). The Turkic element was actively present in the squads from the end of the 11th century. For example, the youth of Vladimir Monomakh named Byandyuk or the youths Ulan and Kulmei are known.

The “multiculturalism” of the squad is clearly visible from the squad burials. “The inclusion of a large number of different ethnic elements emphasized its disconnection from tribal traditions and its opposition to them. The druzhina culture placed its bearers outside and above the tribal organization,” wrote E.A. Melnikova.

The squad was multi-ethnic, and this fact, among others, determined the nature of the relationship between the squad and the rest of the population. In the article “On squad law in the era of statehood formation” we read: “Members of the squad, which operated on the vast territory of the emerging state, were not subject to the restrictions imposed in traditional society on persons of different origins and different initial social status. The warriors of Slavic, Scandinavian or Finno-Ugric origin were placed outside a specific tribe or union of tribes, they were not subject to tribal legal customs... The warriors are characterized by a low degree of sedentarization, they do not have any deep roots.”

The squad did not “have deep roots”, it was on campaigns with the prince, and outside the campaigns it was located in “ambush” in cities, in squad villages-cemeteries and princely “gridnitsa”, i.e. practically in military camps. In the 10th century, “pogost” meant “a camp for princes and princely squads who came to collect tribute.”

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