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Russ-law-art - 7/25/94

 

"Law Codes of the Kievan Rus'" by Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester.

 

NOTE: See also the files: Russia-msg, Kiev-Slavery-art, fd-Russia-msg,

Rus-Handbook-art, Russia-bib, Rus-women-art.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that

I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some

messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium.

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with

seperate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes

extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were

removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I

make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the

individual authors.

 

Please  respect the time  and efforts of  those who have written  these

messages. The  copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this

time. If  information  is published  from  these  messages, please give

credit to the orignator(s).

 

Thank you,

    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  Lord Stefan li Rous

    mark.s.harris at motorola.com           stefan at florilegium.org

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Law Codes of the Kievan Rus'

--Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester

 

The Kievan state was the first large-scale state to dominate the lands

which are today part of Russia, Byelorus, and Ukraine.  The history of

this state began with the semi-legendary occupation of the city of

Kiev by Oleg, a man of Scandinavian origins, in 882.  A small number

of such men, or "Varangians", attracted by the lucrative Volga trade

routes, apparently migrated to the land of the Rus and gradually

married into the largely Slavic population in the area, giving the

area a culture which was initially Slavic with Scandinavian overtones.

(There is, in fact, still a fairly heated debate among scholars as to

just how pervasive and influential Scandinavian culture was on the

Kievan state). In the next century, the princes of Kiev gradually came

to dominate an area that reached from the Viking lands in the north

down south to the edges of the Byzantine Empire, eastwards into the

great steppes, and as far west as the Balkans.

 

After the initial period of expansion, which brought Kiev into contact

with the Byzantines to their south, the state then consolidated its

successes into a stable and prosperous union.  Kievan society was one

dominated by towns and trade, as one might expect, given its position

along the eastern trade routes;  but agriculture formed the backbone

of the state. Contact with Byzantium greatly influenced Kiev's

culture, and probably led in part to its conversion to Christianity

under Vladimir in about 988. Upon Vladimir's death in 1015, a short

civil war ensued as his sons jockeyed for power, but one son,

Iaroslav, won the upper hand by 1019 and divided the kingdom between

himself and his one remaining brother;  upon his brother's death in

1036, he ruled all of the Kievan state until his death in 1054.

 

Iaroslav's reign is usually considered the pinnacle of Kievan

civilization, and history has granted to Iaroslav the epithet "the

Wise". One of Iaroslav's achievements was to codify the customary law

of the Kievan Rus.  This law code, or pravda  (a Russian word whose

meaning is variously translated as "law", "justice", or "truth",

depending on the context) was later expanded by Iaroslav's sons.  The

original code is quite short -- consisting of only 18 articles, it

would easily fit onto two pages such as this one.

 

Before I discuss the codes themselves, a word about early medieval law

codes in general.  There is much contention about whether these codes

were meant for practical use or not.  One argument says that early law

codes (such as those made by the Germanic successor states of Rome,

which were essentially a mix of Germanic and Roman law)  were meant

not for practical use, but to legitimize the rule of the Germanic

kings by putting their kingdoms on a legal basis.  Written laws were

thus a matter of prestige, something every kingdom worth its salt

would have.  This thesis goes on to argue that the legislation of

kings was, at best, only a mirror of the customary law practiced in

their lands;  at worst, these laws were little more than empty

scribblings.  Against this it has been argued that the large number of

existing copies of some of these law codes, some with signs of obvious

wear, are by themselves evidence of the practical intent of the law

codes.  The reality of the situation seems to be that both arguments

are in some way valid and that the situation varied considerably from

region to region, depending on, among other things, education level of

the judges, population density, and stability of the state itself.

 

The simplicity of the earliest Russian law code makes it likely that

its codification was probably an attempt by Iaroslav to claim the

prestige of being the "Father of Russian Law".  His father Vladimir's

conversion to Christianity had strengthened the ties to Byzantium that

had been building for some time; Kiev also had begun to cultivate ties

with Western Europe as well. Byzantium, of course, had a long

tradition of law codification, starting back with Justinian in the

sixth century and continuing with novels , or additions to the code,

right down to Iaroslav's own time.  Unlike the Byzantines, however,

few of Iaroslav's subjects had ever lived under Roman law.  It is not

surprising, thus, to discover that these early laws show little

classical influence.

 

Anyone who has examined other early law codes will be on familiar

ground with these.  Like most early law codes, the Pravda   provides a

system of monetary fines for all offenses, from murder to the cutting

off of beards or moustaches. Unlike many other early codes, however,

there is no system of graded wergelds for various levels of society in

Iaroslav's codification-- all free men (nothing is said of women) have

a wergeld of 40 grivna (probably silver grivna  are meant, which were

equivalent to one troy pound of silver).  Iaroslav's code also permits

certain relatives to avenge murders, but he sought to discourage this

old custom by strictly delineating which relatives had the right of vengeance.

 

Also covered in the code are penalties for those who harbour runaway

slaves (a fine of 3 grivna plus the return of the slave) and

penalties for slaves who strike freemen and then hide in their

master's house (12 grivna  if the master will not give up the slave,

plus the freeman is allowed to beat up the slave).

 

In contrast with many other early codes, there are no mentions of the

testimony of character witnesses in legal proceedings; however,

eyewitnesses are called for in some cases of assault (though Varangians

are allowed to swear an oath instead).  Trial by a jury of 12 men is

also mentioned in connection with commercial disputes, when two

business partners are in dispute about the profits. Commercial

concerns clearly play a large part in Kievan society.

 

The Pravda  of Iaroslav's sons adds a graded wergeld system, mostly in

relation to royal officials (who have a wergeld of 80 grivna ) and

persons of servile status (from 12 grivna   for an overseer

down to 5 grivna  for a peasant or herdsman.  The fine for killing a

horse is 2-3 grivna, incidentally).  Fines for killing livestock are

also listed, and the code ends with the fees which bridge builders

receive for their work.

The expanded version of the Pravda  (promulgated in the 13th century)

delves much more deeply into actual legal procedure.  A graded system

of ordeals and oaths is mentioned for the first time for cases of

theft if the missing item cannot be found.  The revised Pravda  also

shows much more reliance on eyewitnesses; character witnesses are also

mentioned.

 

Once again, the great role of trade and commerce in Kievan society

becomes apparent with laws regulating loans and interest (which is not

prohibited, unlike in other parts of Europe),  articles advising

leniency towards merchants who have lost their goods in shipwrecks,

and the procedure when a man defaults on loans or debts:  he is

brought to the marketplace and all his goods sold;  the proceeds go to

pay off first, the prince (if any of his money is involved), second,

out-of-town merchants, and third, local creditors.  But agricultural

matters play almost as big a role, particularly penalties for stealing

beehives.  Penalties for arson are also detailed.

 

There are also more substantial sections on class interaction:  what

happens when one peasant strikes another, whether slaves can testify

(they can't, except as a last resort, and only higher-ranking slaves

even then).  Significantly, this code mentions for the first time that

the wergeld of a free female is one half that of a free male.

 

Another significant addition concerns inheritance law.  The estates of

nobles always go to the children, be they sons or daughters. If a wife

survives, she receives a portion of the estate for her use during her

lifetime (similar to English dower) and anything her husband

specifically leaves her.  She is also allowed to stay on the homestead

if she wishes to and manage it, but if she marries again, she must

return it.

The subject of wardship is also discussed;  the guardian is

responsible for managing the minor's estate and can keep the profits

for his trouble, but if he loses anything, he must repay the

heir.Finally, provisions are made for the fees the officials in the

various courts are to receive.

 

One can make a much better case for this Pravda  as being intended for

practical use.  But like English law, Kievan customary law (upon which

these codes are based) was likely a much more complex and flexible

system than these codes reveal.  The codifications were a guide to

the judges and established precedent, but were not an end in

themselves, as there were always circumstances which were not covered.

In many ways Kievan law was as advanced as any in Europe (such as in

its reliance on clearly-defined legal procedure and professional

courts), but in other ways it lagged behind-- Western Europe had

gradually been moving away from the system of wergeld (money paid to

the relatives of the injured party in serious cases) to a system in

which murder and other Tfelonies" were an offense against the Crown,

who thus was charged with dispensing justice and levying fines.  The

ordeal had also nearly disappeared in Western Europe by the thirteenth

century;  even judicial combat, to which the aristocracy clung as

their prerogative, was becoming quite rare. The Kievan state did not

survive the thirteenth century as a unified whole, though some of its

towns continued to prosper through the years of Mongol domination.

The cities of Novgorod and then Moscow would succeed as Kiev's heirs.

How the laws of the Russians evolved in that period must remain to be

told some other day.

 

Sources:

 

Nicholas L. Fr.-Chirovsky, An Introduction to Ukrainian History:

Ancient and Kievan-Galician Ukraine-Rus'  (New York, 1981)

 

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia,   4th ed. (London, 1984).

 

G. Vernadsky, trans. Medieval Russian Laws. (Records of Civilization

V. 41). (New York, 1947)

 

Copyright 1994 by Susan Carroll-Clark, 53 Thorncliffe Park Dr. #611,

Toronto, Ontario M4H 1L1 CANADA.  Permission granted for

republication in SCA-related publications, provided author is credited

and receives a copy.

 

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in

the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also

appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being

reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org