Mr. Veliky Novgorod - all eastern Slavs called this northern city so respectfully. The first Novgorodians chose the place for the settlement very well - after a few decades, a small settlement becomes a busy intersection of trade routes. What is remarkable about the history of ancient Novgorod, how this city was formed, and why, in the end, lost its significance? Let's try to figure it out.
A look into the past
What are historians guided by when studying the past of such an education as Novgorod? The ancient city did not arise from scratch - and before that, on the raw ducts of Lake Ladoga, nameless villages, various towns and cities appeared and disappeared. Historians take into account both architectural excavations and the analysis of folklore. All information gathered in crumbs becomes the basis for the birth of historical hypotheses.
So Novgorod arose. The ancient city was mentioned in chronicles dating from 859. The emergence of the village is associated with the name of Prince Rurik, who came from the northern lands to manage the eastern territories. At first, Rurik even made Novgorod his capital. But after taking Kiev, he left behind Novgorod the title of a border point - a fortress that stood guard over the borders of the northern lands.
origin of name
Ancient Novgorod was not always ancient. The name of this locality itself indicates that it was created under an existing city. According to one hypothesis, Novgorod arose on the site of three small villages. Together, they fenced their new settlement and became the New City - Novgorod.
Another hypothesis indicates the presence of another, older settlement. Such a settlement was found on a hill, located very close to the place where Novgorod now stands. The ancient hill is called the Settlement. Excavations showed that there were compact settlements (possibly of local nobility and pagan priests) on the territory of the hill. But neither one nor the other hypothesis can give answers to numerous questions accumulated over the thousand-year history of the existence of this city.
First centuries
At first, ancient Novgorod was a small wooden village. Due to frequent floods, residents built their houses at some distance from the lake, along the riverbank. Later, “breakdown” streets appeared, connecting various sections of the city. The first Kremlin of Novgorod was an unremarkable wooden structure. Such small fortresses in Russia were called detinets because of their small size and apparent strength.
Detinets occupied the entire northwestern part of the village. The sights of ancient Novgorod were limited to this. The opposite shore was occupied by the mansions of the prince and the hut of the rich Slovenian village.
First hiking
No matter how small the information gleaned from the annals may seem to us, one can still add up the history of Novgorod from them. For example, chronicles of the end of the 9th century speak of Prince Oleg ’s campaign in Kiev. The result was the unification of two Slavic tribes - the Polyans and the Ilmen Slavs. In the annals of the tenth century it is said that the Novgorodians were tributaries of the Vikings and paid them 300 hryvnias per year. Later Novgorod became subordinate to Kiev, and Princess Olga herself established the size of tribute from Novgorod land. Chronicles talk about the large amount of tribute that could only be collected from a rich and prosperous locality.
Expansion of Novgorod lands
It is impossible to talk about ancient Novgorod without mentioning the features of its foreign and domestic policies. Novgorod lands were constantly growing in new territories - during the period of greatest prosperity, the influence of this city extended from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to Torzhok. Part of the land was seized as a result of military operations. For example, a campaign against the Chud tribe, who lived in the north of modern Estonia, brought a rich tribute to the treasury of the city, and Slavic Yuriev, founded by Yaroslav the Wise, appeared in the primordial Chud lands.
The letter transmitted by pr. Svyatoslav Olgovich, listed several small pogosts located far in the north, but if they are mentioned in the census, it means that the prince also came from there. Over the course of several centuries, the territories of Novgorod lands also grew peacefully - Russian farmers, in search of fertile lands, contributed a lot to the peaceful colonization of non-Slavic tribes.
Territorial division of land
Such a large territory needed administration, so it was divided into five districts (pyatyn), led by ancient Novgorod. The spots were located like this:
- Obonezhskaya Pyatina - extended to the shores of the White Sea.
- Vodskaya pyatina - occupied part of modern Karelia.
- Shelonskaya pyatina is a region to the south and southwest of Novgorod.
- Derevskaya pyatina - extended to the southeast.
- Bezhetskaya pyatina - the only one whose borders did not touch the city line, this pyatina was located between the territories of Derevskaya and Obonezhskaya pyatina.
The population of pyatins was mainly engaged in cultivating the land, hunting, and fishing. Pyatins were ruled by representatives sent from Novgorod by officials. More distant lands were annually visited by tribute collectors, who even reached the places of residence of the Mansi and Khanty tribes - far in the northeast. Tribute was paid mainly by furs, which were then successfully sold to Europe. Thanks to the fur taxes and active trade in a short time, ancient Novgorod became one of the richest cities in Kievan Rus.
City management
Novgorod, the ancient city of Russian lands, had a unique form of government for the Middle Ages - the republic. During the IX-XI centuries, the Novgorod lands were no different from other possessions of Kievan Rus. But in the XII century, the urban form of government became the main form of government. Who ruled the ancient city? How did Novgorod turn into a republic?
The answer can be found in the letters of the beginning of the XII century. In the lists of 1130 we find the standard orders of Prince Mstislav to his son Vsevolod. Everything is correct - in princely lands it should be so. But in the letter of 1180, Prince Izyaslav asked Novgorod to take the land to the nearest monastery. As you can see, at the end of the XII century the princes were not at all full lords, and they had to seek permission from the city authorities.
The turning point was the Novgorod uprising of 1136. During this period, the rebels arrested Prince Mstislav and his family and were held captive for six weeks, after which they were allowed to leave ancient Novgorod. Briefly about this period we can say this: the Slavic veche revived and turned into a powerful legislative body. The first elected posts appeared - posadniks, who pursued an independent policy. This form of government has successfully existed in the Novgorod lands for more than three hundred years. Only after the bloody annexation of Novgorod lands to the Moscow principality did the Novgorod freemen come to an end.
Did the posadors rule the city?
There is an opinion that ancient Novgorod was controlled by posadniks. Yes or no? There is no definite answer to this question. Formally, the posadniks controlled the work of the veche, convened and dissolved the city council. In their hands were the keys to the arsenal and the city treasury. They regulated the work of the veche and approved the decisions made there.
So ancient Novgorod controlled posadniki? Yes or no? We will approach the problem from the other side. The form of decision-making in those days was different from that adopted in the modern world. Decisions at the veche were made not by a simple majority vote, but in favor of those who shouted the loudest. Tricky posadniks hired such screamers in their districts and promoted them in order to adopt the necessary laws. We can say that formally Novgorod was led by all residents. But in fact, power was in the hands of elected posadniks.
Princes in Novgorod
Princes in Novgorod did not have any rights. Only in wartime by order of the veche could they invite them to command the defense of the city. Mercenary princes were forbidden to own their own lands and take part in the management of the city. He and their families and households settled in the Settlement, where special mansions were arranged for them.
But the princes were the only ones who ruled ancient Novgorod during the war. A special chamber considered the candidates of the neighboring princes and decided which of them to call for help. The chosen one was settled in the Settlement, given all the powers in his hands, the city militia was gathered under his leadership. And after the elimination of the military threat, they simply expelled him, as they say in ancient chronicles, and showed him the way. At the same time, from all the princes, the Novgorodians sought firm compliance with the clauses of the agreement:
- Do not interfere in the inner life of Novgorod lands;
- be content with collecting tribute;
- lead the war.
Those princes who did not comply with the conditions were simply expelled from the Novgorod estates. The exception, perhaps, was only the reign of Alexander Nevsky. A firm hand and tough policy, combined with impending danger, temporarily reconciled the Novgorodians with princely orders. He was the only one who ruled ancient Novgorod as a prince and ruler. But, after Nevsky took the princely throne, the Novgorodians did not request either the relatives of the prince or his deputies.
Novgorod military
Many centuries of independence of Novgorod obliged him to conduct a completely independent foreign policy. At first, the main goal of military expansion was to expand the borders of the Novgorod Republic, later it was about preserving the existing borders and protecting the sovereignty of the state. To accomplish these tasks, the Novgorodians had to accept foreign delegations, join political unions and break them up, hire squads and armies and mobilize among the local population.
The backbone of the Novgorod army was a militia. It included peasants, artisans, boyars and civilian employees. Representatives of the clergy did not have the right to be in the militia. The elite of the army was the squad of the invited prince, and the prince himself, who was elected by the decision of the veche, commanded the military operation.
The main protective armor of the Novgorodians was a shield, chain mail and a sword. Many of the samples of this weapon were discovered during later excavations, and the best samples are now stored in museums and in the photo of ancient Novgorod.
A variety of metal helmets were used for the head. For the attack, sabers and bastards were used, in hand-to-hand combat, knives and maces were used. For long-range combat, bows and crossbows were actively used. Crossbows were inferior in rate of fire, but the heavy tips of such arrows could penetrate any, even the most durable enemy armor.
The culture of ancient Novgorod, the tradition of choice
The concept of Orthodox Christianity has become the foundation for the moral, moral, and ideological life of Novgorod society. The temples of ancient Novgorod gathered a lot of people and were ruled by bishops. The post of bishop, as well as the post of posadnik, was elective in Novgorod. The process of electing a spiritual shepherd was also dealt with by the veche.
Interestingly, even in such distant times, there was a procedure for selecting secular and spiritual rulers. The names of three applicants were announced at the place of veche meetings, they were applied on parchment and sealed by a posadnik. Then the Novgorodians went under the walls of the St. Sophia Church, where the honor of drawing lots went to the blind man or child. The chosen option was immediately announced, and the elected bishop accepted congratulations.
In the XI century, the procedure has changed somewhat. It began to be considered that the winner is not the one who leaves, but the one who remains and becomes the lord. The Protopop of St. Sophia Cathedral took lots, read out the names, and the name of the winner was announced at the very end. In the vast majority of cases, sovereigns of nearby monasteries and representatives of the white clergy became sovereigns of bishops and archbishops of Novgorod churches.
But there were also cases when the chosen one did not even have a dignity. So, in 1139, this high position was occupied by the parish key keeper Alexy, chosen for righteousness and godly fear. The authority of the archbishops was very great among the Novgorodians. More than once they prevented civil strife, reconciled quarreling, blessed to war. Without the blessing of the lord, neither economic nor military treaties of the rulers of Novgorod with visiting princes and representatives of foreign states were recognized.
Architecture of ancient Novgorod
The art of ancient Novgorod occupies a separate place in the history of Russian culture. In the second half of the 12th century, Novgorod architects built their own buildings, decorate the walls of religious buildings with their own, original frescoes. At first, bishops and archbishops who were fortunate enough to occupy the highest positions in the church hierarchy did not spare money for the temples and cathedrals of ancient Novgorod. The power of the church was generously supported by income from vast land, donations from private individuals, a system of duties and fines.
Unfortunately, few masterpieces of wooden architecture have survived to this day. The early temples of Novgorod largely copy the famous Kiev Christian shrines, but already at the dawn of the new millennium in the outlines of the cathedrals specific Novgorod features are manifested. For example, the St. Sophia Cathedral of ancient Novgorod was copied from a similar church in the capital Kiev.
Its walls are crowned with heavy, lead domes, and only the tallest of them, the fifth, sparkles with gilding. Initially, the Novgorod Hagia Sophia Church was made of wood, like all the architectural structures of the time. But the original building, having stood for about fifty years, was burned to the ground in a big fire.
Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, decided to build a new, stone cathedral, similar to the famous Kiev temple. For this, the prince had to call masons and architects from Kiev - in Novgorod there were no builders who could work with stone. The cathedral was very popular among Novgorodians and residents of Pyatyn - during the great holidays its walls were not visible due to the large crowds. The city treasury was kept in the temple, and the walls of this building hid a lot of hiding places with treasures. Perhaps some of them remained undetected to this day.
In the second half of the XII century, the order of the temples and structures was no longer the church, but wealthy clerks and boyars. Other famous examples of Novgorod architecture - the Peter and Paul Church in Kozhevniki, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin, the church of Fedor Stratilat on the Stream - are built on boyar donations. The boyars did not skimp on the interior decoration of the temple - all services were conducted using gold and silver vessels. The walls of the temples were decorated with bright frescoes by local artists, and the Novgorod icons painted at that time do not cease to amaze even today.
Modern sights of Novgorod
Tourists of our time will be able to find many monuments of the history of this city in modern Novgorod. The list of must-see sights includes the famous child, repeatedly burned to the ground and reborn in the 13th century, only in stone form. The Paraskeva Fridays Church and the Assumption Church on Volotov Field attract visitors with their amazing frescoes and icons, the brightness of the colors of which does not fade even today. For those who want to immerse themselves in the era of ancient Novgorod, there is an excursion to the Trinity archaeological site - this is where you can walk the streets of the X century, see a lot of evidence of this long time.
Summary
Until the 15th century, Novgorod led a completely self-sufficient sovereign existence, adopting and imposing its own policies on neighboring states. The influence of Novgorod spread far beyond the official borders of this principality. The wealth of its citizens and successful trade relations attracted the attention of all neighboring states. Novgorodians often had to defend their independence, reflecting the onslaught of the Swedes, Livonians, German knights and their indefatigable neighbors - Moscow and Suzdal principalities.
With the rich Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Novgorod preferred to trade rather than fight, trade relations between the two countries have a long history. Historians are sure that it was from the south that an educational system came to Novgorod lands that allowed every free husband to read and write. Researchers find many birch bark letters with everyday or teaching texts in Novgorod lands - perhaps other principalities that remained after the collapse of Kievan Rus did not attach much importance to the literacy level of their inhabitants.
Unfortunately, a strong and wealthy state did not pass the test of time. The aggressive policy of forcible annexation of Russian lands played a role. Novgorod could not resist the onslaught of the forces of Ivan the Terrible, and in 1478 was included in the Moscow principality. The rich culture and traditions gradually fell into decay, the center of cultures and crafts shifted eastward, and Novgorod eventually became an ordinary provincial city.