Medieval Russian Laws PDF
Preview Medieval Russian Laws
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
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