Medieval Russian Laws

114 Pages·1965·3.581 MB·English

by  George Vernadsky

RECORDS OF CIVILIZATION
SOURCES AND STUDIES
Edited under the auspices of the
Department of History, Columbia University
general editor: W. T. H. Jackson, Professor of German and History
PAST EDITORS
1915-1926
James T. Shotwell, Bryce Professor Emeritus of the
History of International Relations
1926-1953
Austin P. Evans, Late Professor of History
1953-1962
Jacques Barzun, Seth Low Professor of History
Number XLI
Medieval Russian Laws

MEDIEVAL
RUSSIAN
LAWS
Translated by GEORGE VERNADSKY
OCTAGON BOOKS
A division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux
New York 1979
Copyright 1947 Columbia University Press
Reprinted 1965
by special arrangement with Columbia University Press
Second Octagon Printing 1979
OCTAGON BOOKS
A division of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc.
19 Union Square West
New York, N.Y. 10003
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-25618
ISBN 0-374-98075-6
Manufactured by Braun-Brumfield, Inc.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
timeliness in the publication of this little
There is a certain
volume, comprising translations of the most important of the early
Russian laws, in that it may make a modest contribution toward a
correct understanding of present-day Russia and the Russians. Let
no one dismiss this statement as fanciful; for the present has its roots
deep in the past, and we need to learn something of that past in order
properly to appreciate ideas and institutions of the present.
For this, translations are indispensable, not only of current books
but also of basic works which illuminate the earlier history of the
Russian people. And among these latter, it would be difficult to find
more useful material than is here presented. These laws afford an
insight into basic and relatively constant factors in the civilization of
a people, the institutions by which they group themselves for social
action, their concept of social controls, their sense of right and
justice.
From the standpoint of the historian of social institutions there is
interest also in a comparison between early Slavic law codes and
those of other Europeans—the Anglo-Saxons, the Norwegians, and
the Germans. As Doctor Vernadsky shows in his Introduction, there
is much that is similar, and even some evidence of borrowing but
there are also significant differences. The student of social and legal
history will now have ready access to materials for such a com­
parative study.
The publication of this work has been facilitated by financial aid
contributed by the Russian Translation Project of the American
Council of Learned Societies and by Mr. Boris Pregel of New York
City. It is a pleasure here to record appreciation of their generosity.
P.
Austin E vans
Montrose, New York
1 December 1946

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
THE RUSSIAN LAW 26
The Short Version: Iaroslav’s Pravda, 26; The Pravda of Iaro-
slav’s Sons, 29
The Expanded Version: The Revised Pravda of Iaroslav’s Sons,
35; Vladimir Monomach’s Statute, 43; Other Enactments, 48
THE CHARTER OF DVINA LAND 57
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PSKOV 61
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF NOVGOROD 83
GLOSSARY 93
BIBLIOGRAPHY 97
101
INDEX

MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN LAWS