Tatyana’s poem Autumn on Chernobyl begins as follows: “On a forgotten graveyard crosses have long been blackened ...”. In the understanding of modern people, a churchyard is a rural cemetery. An old word that is rarely used. And only writers remember him. Was it like that before?
A bit of history
The Slavs had annual detours of their lands by princes with a squad. On the way, the prince stayed in pre-negotiated villages or fortified places where tribute was brought. Sturdy yards were set up here to repel the attack and left a steward, often called a “cattleman”, who regulates the collection of goods and resolves administrative issues in the absence of a master. Traveling in the country in summer was possible along rivers, and in winter - on a sleigh. Therefore, places convenient for stops were called graveyards. This is in ancient Russia and their very name determines. Merchants gathered at the guest house, that is, trade. With the arrival of the prince, social life revived: a court was being adjudicated, combatants were recruited.
Reform of Princess Olga
Since 946, the order of tribute payment, called polyudye, has changed. Princess Olga establishes a tax system by arranging the timing and amount of the in-kind tax, called the lesson. From this moment on, “graveyards” and “lessons” are terms denoting territorial-administrative units of Russia and charters. Lesson — a fixed amount of tax from a certain place. At the graveyards, tiuni warriors and tribute collectors are appointed. Tiun counts the number of foci or black cox and transmits to Kiev. This sets the amount of tax “from smoke” or “from plow”. Tribute is collected by community elders. Instead of cattle, the hryvnia becomes the monetary equivalent - a metal casting of silver or gold, which serves as a measure of weight and payment. In Russia, they did not mint a coin, but used foreign currency that was in circulation, often dinars, melting them into bullion. The name "hryvnia" comes from the Old Slavonic "mane", that is, the neck. A necklace could be made of hryvnia.
Pogost is the center of princely rule
On the graveyard in the absence of the princess, the court ruled tyun according to the testimony of witnesses. For lack of these tyuns turned to pagan priests. The culprit paid the virus, that is, a fine. The death penalty relied on the murder.
Tiun in case of refusal to pay tribute caused a militia. Olga herself could suddenly appear on the graveyard and control the tiuna.
Olga identified hunting grounds and princely villages. This led to the emergence of smerds - dependent on the prince of commoners with their land (patrimony), which was passed on by inheritance. In the absence of heirs, the land went to the prince. True, the prince had the right to take the land from the smerd, punishing him for his wrongdoing. Then he became a slave with his family. This is practically slavery.
How did the meaning of the word
Initially, this word meant a guest house or a place where the prince stops with his retinue. Over time, the term "graveyards" means the division of the territory into taxable districts with a center where there was a tribute reception center and there was a tyun responsible for collecting tribute warrior. Since the X century, it is already a trading village with bazaars that attract merchants and artisans. The tax collection center is becoming a lively place of public life. Christianity gradually spread in Russia, and in the places where tributes were collected, as the most visited, churches began to be built. They attracted additional cash flows, doing baptism, funeral services and weddings. The cemetery was located on consecrated ground, near the church. The name of the churchyard was double - in the village and in the church.
In the Pskov and Novgorod provinces, a churchyard is a few villages, from ten to a hundred according to the records of those years. In the central Russian provinces, where there was a large number of private estates, public life revolved around the village where the estate of the landowner stood. The church and the cemetery were located at a distance.
From the 18th century this is the name of the church, separate from the village, with a cemetery, a clergy house or a priest’s house. By the XIX-XX centuries, it was just a rural cemetery.
As used now
Now the term "graveyard" does not even remind of the place where a high-ranking person or a responsible official stops. Perhaps the same root word "hotel" will say more about this. There was only an association with a cemetery, especially a rural one. That is how poets use it.
Mikhail Shcherbakov:
- From love, longing, debt and churchyard - to the coveted peninsula!
At Ivan Bunin:
- Here's a familiar graveyard by the colored Mediterranean wave ...
Why is a churchyard a Christian cemetery
In Russia, it was not always buried on land located near the temple. Or shrines, if you go deep into the old days. A mound was erected for noble people. Remember - “Prince Igor and Olga are sitting on a hill”? This hill is a mound where Oleg is buried. Usually, horses and valuables were buried with the lord. Burial fields are also known. They were outside the hillfort.
Burial places in pre-Christian prehistoric times had pagan idols. During the spread of Christianity, they were demolished, and temples were built on that site. The earth was consecrated and buried by Christians on it. The remaining cemeteries remained uninitiated, gradually falling into decay. Later, the word takes on the meaning of the parish center. Therefore, a churchyard is a cemetery with a church.