Video: Old Russian heraldic pendant "swordsman" with the image of the trident of Vladimir Svyatoslavich
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In the spring of 2012, in the vicinity of the village of Sednev (Chernigov region, Ukraine), identified with the ancient Russian city of Snovsky, known in the chronicles from the middle of the 11th century and located on the Snovo River, the right tributary of the Desna, an ancient Russian heraldic pendant was found.
This pendant is made of silver. On the "A" side there is an image of Vladimir Svyatoslavich's trident (+ 1015). A similar image of Vladimir's trident is recorded on heraldic pendants from Novgorod (Beletsky 2004: 255-256, No. 29), from Tsyblya near Pereyaslavl South (Beletsky 2011: 44-45, fig. 1; 2012: 447, 463, fig. 12), and also on two pendants, presumably originating from Kiev (Beletsky 2004: 261, 262, 312, no. 35, 36).
On the "B" side there is a well-drawn image of a type V sword (Peterson …), the blade of which, according to A. N. Kirpichnikov, ends with a "flying arrow". We can see analogs of the image of the "flying arrow" on an ornamented wood product originating from Staraya Ladoga.
The table top of the Old Russian pendant from the "A" side is made in the form of an animal's head (a wolf, a dragon?). Similar zoomorphic endings can be found on a silver chain from the hoard at the Borisoglebsk Cathedral in Chernigov in the late 12th - early 13th centuries and the table of contents ancient cross from the National Museum of Iceland.
Also, a similar image of a "flying arrow" on a pendant from Sednev is on one of the three silver gilded bowls of Constantinople work from a hoard containing gold and silver jewelry, discovered in 1985 during the archaeological excavations of the Detinets in Chernigov (storage place - Ukraine, Chernigov, Historical Museum, Arch. No. 239). On the inner surface of the bowl, between the medallions depicting the saints, there are several graffiti, among which there is a similar image interpreted in literature as an image of a bird, the body of which is formed by braid.
Obviously, the pendant being published was the credential of the person representing the interests of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. According to A. N. Kirpichnikov, this pendant could have belonged to one of the swordsmen Vladimir Svyatoslavich. A swordsman in ancient Russia was called an official in the service of the prince. His duties, one of which was judicial, are spelled out in the set of legal norms of Ancient Rus "Russian Pravda", but there is no consensus about his functions in the judicial process of Ancient Rus in the scientific world to this day.
According to a number of researchers of Russkaya Pravda, the swordsman was empowered to assist a judge in administering justice and executing one of the most cruel punishments according to Russkaya Pravda - "flow and plunder" (giving the prince a criminal together with his wife and children, handling all in favor of the prince, less compensation for damage to the injured party, and the destruction of the home). For the murder of a swordsman, a considerable fine was provided for - 40 hryvnia, and beating was punishable by a fine of 12 hryvnia. In addition to the judicial and executive functions, he was responsible for the collection of taxes. This is indicated by the discoveries made by the Novgorod expedition of the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. During excavations in Novgorod, two wooden cylinders were found with carved Cyrillic business inscriptions. According to V. L. Ioannina's cylinders were used in the princely household as special locks on bags.
Based on archaeological data, the dating of the finds is quite wide - 973-1051. The princely sign (in the form of a simple trident) of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the future Baptist of Russia, who ruled in Novgorod in 970-980, helps to clarify it significantly.
VL Yanin was able to restore the lost text and suggested this reading of the inscription on the cylinder with the sign of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich: Mets'nits mech v quiet m (o) te (x) Paul (…)'tvch “. "Mets'nits fur" - a sack of a swordsman, a judicial officer from among the princely people; (v quiet m (o) te (x) "(- in those skeins, windings). Then the name of the swordsman is indicated, apparently Polotvets. The cylinder was used as a lock on a tied bag with a share of income intended for the swordsman for named Polotvets.
Over the next 46 years of excavations, twelve more similar objects were found, of which six bore inscriptions on their surfaces saying that they belonged to the prince, or "emts", or "swordsman" (the latter term is a synonym for the same "emts").
Some are carved with princely emblems, on the top of the "swordsman's" top hat - a sword (from this attribute of power comes the official designation of an official). The cylinder with the mention of the "swordsman" in its inscription informs about the "mech" (sack) belonging to him. An important detail was recorded on three objects found then: a short (transverse) channel in them is tightly clogged with a wooden, non-removable cork, the ends of which are cut flush with the surface of the cylinder.
The combination of all these details clarified the purpose of the described series of objects. The cylinders marked the tied bag with a share of the income, indicating that the bag belonged to the prince (that is, the state) or to the collector himself. The latter, according to Russkaya Pravda, received a certain percentage of the sums he himself collected. The bag could contain furs or other valuables.
At present, a series of Old Russian pendants is known, on which princely two-prongs or tridents are accompanied by images that have nothing to do with the heraldry of Rurikovich: "banner" (Beletsky 2004: 252, 313, 318 No. 40, 53), "horn" (Beletsky 2004: 252, 253, 318, No. 53), "sword-hammer" (Beletsky 2004: 258, 259, 310, No. 50: Beletsky, Tarlakovsky 2011: 104-105). Similar images are found, along with the two teeth and tridents of Rurikovich, among the graffiti on coins (Nakhapetyan, Fomin 1994: No. 74a, 259a; Dobrovolsky, Dubov, Kuzmenko 1991: 27, 69, 72, 78, 79, 105, 193, 229, 242, 245, 251, 313, 327, 354, 369, 382, 412, 416, 427,)
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the pendants with the sign of the Rurikovichs were credentials of persons in the service of the prince, and giving the right to perform certain actions on behalf of or on the guarantee of the prince.
A source: Almanac Domongol, number 3.
Literature.- EA Melnikova Scandinavian runic inscriptions // Moscow "Eastern Literature" RAS 2001 - VL Yanin "AT THE ORIGINS OF THE NOVGOROD STATE" // BULLETIN OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES volume 70, № 8, p. 675-68 (2000) - VL Yanin "Novgorod - an open book of the Russian Middle Ages" // Nature № 10, 2010 - AN Kirpichnikov, VD Sarabyanov Old Ladoga the ancient capital of Russia // JSC "Slavia »SPb 1996 - Richard Hall Exploring the world of the Vikings // Thames & Hudson Ltd 2007- From Viking to crusader // Nordic Council of Ministers and the authors 1992
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