What is mankind? If you are reading these lines now, then you are probably also interested in this question. This concept can often be found in literature, cinema and history textbooks, but not all people know its true meaning. The purpose of this article is to tell the story of the origin of the word and explain its meaning. Interested in? Then we wish you a pleasant reading!
Meaning of the word “servants”
As a rule, two meanings of the term "servants" are distinguished:
- Yard servants (until the abolition of serfdom in the territory of the Russian Empire).
- Any minions.
These definitions can be found in almost all existing explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language. On the one hand, they are correct, but on the other hand, servants are a broader concept than “slave” or “servant”. That is why we will now turn to history.
Original meaning
In ancient times, the word servants were called family members, children who obeyed the will of the chief patriarch - their father. Over time, these family communities began to include captive slaves, all sorts of servants, debtors, etc. Then, after many years, people were called servants who looked after the households of government rulers, boyars, and other influential personalities.
Are slaves and servants the same thing?
And so we got to a topic that worries a lot of people. When you try to give a complete and detailed answer to the question of what servants are, to formulate a definition of a word, no matter how you try, you still come across a comparison with the concept of "serf". Many people mistakenly confuse these two words, suggesting that they have the same meaning. As mentioned earlier, the word "servants" has a broader concept than "serf" or "slave", despite the fact that the last two after a while began to be called "complete chelyan." According to the hierarchical system, every serf was a servant, but not every servant was a servant.
To the servants are:
- Slaves who came to Russia after military campaigns and tribute gatherings.
- Ryadovichi are the debtors of the master who have concluded a series (contract) with him, according to which they are forced to repay the debt, working for him.
- Purchases - those who took a compartment (as the loan was called in Russia) and worked it out with the one who provided it to them.
- A privileged servant, who during the war was in the personal squad of a government ruler or boyar, and in peacetime was their right hand in economic affairs. These included the grooms, the elders, the firemen (the people in charge of the firearm - the princely house). Despite the fact that legally these people still remained slaves, in reality their situation was much better than that of other servants.
Where did the servants live?
This topic is also worth paying attention in order to give a complete and detailed answer to the question of what the servants is - what is it. In each city inhabited by mankind, the administration of the surrounding lands, under the control of the prince, was concentrated. On these lands were the so-called princely villages. For example, the village of Olzhichi belonged to Princess Olga, the village of Berestovichi - to Prince Vladimir, Rakoma - to Prince Yaroslav, etc. The princes either took control of free territories and lands, or took the land from the communities, turning the inhabitants into their workers. In these cities and villages, the state rulers of Ancient Rus planted their captives - slaves.
In the time of Vladimir and Yaroslav, the princely mansions in which the servants who occupied a high position, elders, rank and file, servants, stenchs and others lived in the captured villages. In the courtyard there was a stable, a house, a farmyard and other buildings. Cattle and horses grazed in the meadows, on which stood the princely “spot” - the stigma. They were under the supervision of wardens, grooms and village tyuns. The grazing of all these animals, as a rule, was handled by slaves, stinks and other servants who worked for the state ruler of Russia.
Soon, boyar agriculture began to develop. Initially, the main source of income for the princely governor was the booty obtained during the campaigns, the share of tribute shared by the prince, and the share of princely judicial and administrative income. Over time, when military campaigns ceased, the population of Russia itself became their main source of profit.
Now you know what servants are. We hope that the information provided in the article was useful to you and you learned a lot of interesting facts!