smurdi, smardones) - the social stratum of fame. early medieval societies. In the sources of the 11th-12th centuries. S. marked in Kievan Rus(Russian Truth and other sources), in Poland, among the Polabian Slavs; S. may also have been in the Balkans. On the question of what social stratum dr.-rus. society was designated by the term "S.", there are three DOS. points of view: 1) S. - the designation of the entire mass rural population : initially S. - free community members, then with the development of feuds. relations, they gradually lose their freedom and for a long time coexist free and dependent S. (B. D. Grekov, I. I. Smirnov). 2) S. - peasants who sat on the state. land and taxed, later with the development of feuds. relations from their environment, a group of S., who were in the immediate vicinity, stands out. dependence on the prince-patrimony (L. V. Cherepnin). 3) S. - a special group of dependent semi-free population, close in position to Western European. litam (S. V. Yushkov) or formed from the serfs planted on the ground and close to them in its own way. position (A. A. Zimin). According to the supporters of the first two points of view, the norms of Russian Truth reflect Ch. arr. the position of the most oppressed groups of S., and not of the entire S. stratum as a whole. S.'s position was ambivalent. Unlike a slave, S. had his own family and property, and paid a fine for his misdeeds. At the same time, he was legally incomplete; the murder of S. was punished with the same fine as the murder of a serf. His escheated property was inherited by the prince (it is even possible that initially the right of the "dead hand" was applied to S.). The prohibition to "torment" (torture during court proceedings) S. "without the prince of the word" indicates the special attitude of S. Russkaya Pravda towards the prince. From the beginning 12th c. the lands inhabited by S. are transferred to the ownership of the department. feudal lords. During the 12th and 13th centuries references to S. are preserved in sources that tell about events in the Galicia-Volyn and Novgorod lands. In some cases, the term "S." during this period, apparently, the entire rural population of a particular locality was designated. S. Novgorod and Pskov lands 14-15 centuries. appear in the sources as peasant proprietors who own land collectively (whole communities) or individually and have the right to freely alienate their allotments. But their personal freedom is limited: they are forbidden to move to a foreign territory. or under the patronage of the prince, and the prince is forbidden to accept complaints from S. against "the Lord." S. also had to perform certain duties ("tribute", "work") in favor of the city as a collective fief. senior. Information about S. among the Polabian Slavs, ch. arr. Lusatian Serbs, and in Poland are much more scarce. According to some researchers, S. among the Polabian Slavs is a layer of semi-free people that has existed for a long time; according to others, - originally DOS. mass of free glory. community members who gradually lost their property and freedom as a result of the conquest. FROM. among the Polabian Slavs, they are already mentioned in letters as part of the population of certain possessions, to-rye complained of otd. German feudal lords emperors. In them, S. are distinguished from slaves, they are equated with semi-free - litas or naz. columns. In Poland, in letters of the 12th-13th centuries. S. are also mentioned in the composition of the population of the granted otd. feudal estates. In addition to them, the smerds of the prince are also mentioned, to-rykh are called. his servers. According to a number of researchers, in Poland the term "S." served originally to designate the main. masses of free community members, the Polish historian K. Buchek believes that S. are serfs planted on the ground. Lit .: Yushkov S. V., On the question of smerds, "Uch. Zap. Saratov. State University", 1923, vol. 1, c. four; True Russian, vol. 2, M.-L., 1947; Grekov B. D., Kievan Rus, (M.), 1953; Cherepnin L.V., From the history of the formation of the class of the feudal-dependent peasantry in Russia, IZ, vol. 56, M., 1956; Zimin A. A., About stinks Dr. Russia XI - early. XII centuries, in the book: Historical and archaeological. Sat., (M., 1962); Smirnov I. I., Essays on socio-economic. relations of Russia in the XII-XIII centuries, M.-L., 1963; Marasinova L. M., New Pskov letters of the XIV-XV centuries, M., 1966; Ryskin B., Smerdy in the German regions. colonization of the XI-XIII centuries, "VI", 1948, No 3; K?tzschke R., Zur Sozialgeschichte der Westslaven, in: Jahrb?cher f?r Kultur und Geschichte der Slaven, Bd 8, Hl 1, Breslau, 1932; Tymieniecki K., Uwagi o smerdach (smardach, smurdach) Slowianskich, in Studia historica, Warsz., 1958; his own, Smardowie polscy, Poznan, 1959. B. N. Florya. Moscow.
SMERDS SMERDS - small landowners who constituted a heterogeneous social and legal status group of the population in Ancient Russia (and in some other Slavic countries). During the period of the XI-XII centuries. S. are primarily communal peasants who have lost their personal freedom in whole or in part. Along with them, the personally free rural population also entered the category C. During the period feudal fragmentation(XII-XIII centuries) the term "S." all rural residents of a certain territory were designated (peasants - subjects of the local feudal lord). S.'s personal freedom was limited by the prohibition of transferring under the guardianship of another feudal lord. In the XIV-XV centuries. the concept of S. in Russia was replaced by a new one - peasants.
Big legal dictionary. - M.: Infra-M. A. Ya. Sukharev, V. E. Krutskikh, A. Ya. Sukharev. 2003 .
See what "SMERDY" is in other dictionaries:
Community peasants in Ancient Russia (9th-14th centuries). Initially free, with the development of socio-economic relations gradually fell into dependence ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
SMERDY, community peasants in Ancient Russia (9th-14th centuries). Initially free, with the development of socio-economic relations gradually fell into dependence. Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland ... Russian history
In ancient Russian law, free rural inhabitants, as opposed to serfs on the one hand, and princely men on the other. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907 ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
The category of dependent rural population in Ancient Russia. They are mentioned in Russkaya Pravda, The Tale of Bygone Years, etc. The murder of a smerd was punished with the same fine as the murder of serfs. Their escheated property was inherited by the prince. The word "smerd" ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
- (smurdi, smardones) social stratum of fame. early medieval societies. In the sources of the 11th-12th centuries. S. are noted in Kievan Rus (Russkaya Pravda and other sources), in Poland, among the Polabian Slavs; S. may also have been in the Balkans. On the question of…… Soviet historical encyclopedia
SMERDY- - the name of feudally dependent peasants in Ancient Russia (9-13 centuries). V. I. Lenin points out that “landowners enslaved smerds back in the days of Russkaya Pravda” (Soch., vol. 3, p. 170). S., attached to the ground, were operated as ... ... Soviet legal dictionary
The name of feudally dependent peasants in Ancient Russia and in some other Slavic countries. In the sources of the 11th-12th centuries. S. are noted in Kievan Rus (Russkaya Pravda and other sources), in Poland, among the Polabian Slavs. S. in Russia, peasants, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- ... Wikipedia
stinks- small landowners, who constituted a heterogeneous group of the population in terms of social and legal status in Ancient Russia (and in some other Slavic countries). During the period of the XI-XII centuries. S. is primarily community peasants who have lost their personal freedom ... ... Big Law Dictionary
SMERDY- agricultural population of villages. At the beginning of the historical existence of Russia, it was free, and then gradually became dependent on individuals, princes or estates. The first written collections of laws are somewhat limited in ... ... Cossack dictionary-reference book
Books
- Tsars and smerds: a novel. Benyukh O.P., Benyukh O.P. The action of the novel takes place in the outback of Russia and covers the second half of the 20th century. Against this historical background, the life of two main characters is shown - a village priest and a village teacher. ...
Remember the famous quotes from the beloved “Ivan Vasilyevich”, who changes his profession: “Why did you offend the noblewoman, stink?”, “Oh, you tramp, mortal pimple, stink!”? We laugh together at the bewilderment of Yakin (Mikhail Pugovkin), admire the Terrible (Yuri Yakovlev), but when we undertake to reread Bulgakov's immortal comedy, we also pay attention to the wonderful language in which the work is written.
Smerd stink strife
A modern reader who quickly forgets lessons on such a school subject as history will probably not immediately say what a smerd is, or rather, who it is. But the inquisitive, of course, will be interested to find out that the inhabitants were called this way ancient Russian state, with the exception of the nobility (boyars) and the clergy. Those. this concept meant merchants, merchants and artisans, wandering buffoons and townspeople, as well as peasants. So what is a commoner, a person of diverse origins. However, over time, the word acquires a different semantics.
Peasant question
Now some clarifications. The peasants in Russia were once free farmers. Then, as they became enslaved, they began to be divided into three categories: “people”, “serfs”, “smerds”. "People" were called citizens of low birth without owners-boyars. As Russkaya Pravda (a test legal document of the 11th-16th centuries) says, if someone kills free man and will be caught, he must pay a fine of 40 hryvnia. And what is a smerd if his life was worth no more than the life of a slave (serf) - 5 hryvnias? Also, it turns out, a slave. Whose? Prince, i.e. boyar.
The category of smerds gradually began to include those free peasant farmers who became enslaved as social stratification and the growth of landlord lands. This meaning of the word is typical for the times of Kievan Rus.
Smerd "in Novgorod"
The Novgorod Republic was a special territory. And there were rules. What is a smerd according to local laws? This is a farmer dependent on the state, and not on a private owner. Then, in general, all peasants began to be attributed to this category. In Russia, it was the plowmen who were the most numerous category of citizens. The state gave them plots of land, for which the smerds paid taxes to the treasury, and the princes - a duty "in kind": food, linen, domestic animals, etc. Such peasants were obliged to live in villages (from the word "village", i.e. e. "sedentary"). Around the 15th century, the term "smerdy" was replaced by "peasants". And since the army was recruited from the common people, at times and a little later, service people were called this word.
In documents (orders, letters, letters, petitions) of that time, this is the officially accepted form when the king addresses the soldiers. A few centuries later, the concept of "smerd" turned into a contemptuous, almost abusive designation of serfs and commoners. Incidentally, at the time princely strife there was a specific, then obsolete word "to stink": to capture the subjects of an enemy prince.
And more about etymology and word usage
If we talk about it, it belongs to the Indo-European language group. We have considered lexical transformation. It remains to be said about the additional semantic meaning obtained in the process of use. From the word "smerd" the verb "stink" was formed, i.e. "smell bad". The fact is that in the huts where the poorest peasants and serfs lived, the windows were covered with air that did not let in at all. The stoves were heated "in black", the smoke barely left the premises, smoking through everything. And in late autumn, winter and early spring, together with people, poultry and cattle kept in the huts. It is clear that the "aroma" of stink could be smelled a mile away. Therefore, over time, the word "smerd" instead of "serf" began to denote a dirty, untidy, stinking person. A modern synonym is "homeless".
One of the most confusing issues in the history of pre-Mongol Rus is the content of the term "smerd", the status of this category of the population. Without going into the historiography of the issue (it can be found in the works of I.Ya. Froyanov, who dealt with it a lot), we can briefly say that at the moment there are two interpretations of the concept of "smerd". The first is an analogue of the later "peasant", a farmer, sometimes dependent on the landowner, but at the same time personally free. The second interpretation considers the smerds as landed slaves-captives from non-Slavic tribes, and tributaries - also non-Slavs (in the "Tale of Bygone Years" subordinate to the Russian princes, Rurikovich, the peoples are very clearly divided into two categories - "Slovene language in Russia" and " iii yazytsЂ, and also give tribute to Russia" - while the "Slovenian language" was incorporated into the concept of "Rus", the rest of the population of Eastern Europe remained outside, perceived as tributaries, and nothing more). I.Ya. also belongs to the supporters of the latter point of view. Froyanov.
The very existence of two points of view on this question suggests that the data of the surviving chroniclers and other documents do not give an unambiguous answer to the question of the status of smerds. The annalistic data are especially unclear, where the use of this term may be not of a legal, but of a rhetorical nature.
In the summer of 6604. Svyatopolk and Volodimer were sent to Olgovi, saying to the mother: “Go to Kiev, let’s make a row about the Russian land before the bishops, abbots and before our fathers, and before the townspeople, so that they defend the Russian land from the filthy.” Oleg, however, we take the meaning of the buoy and the words are majestic, saying: “There is no way to judge [me] by a bishop and black, or smerdom”
According to the context, here “husbands” are also called smerds, that is, boyars and a squad of princes, and “townspeople”. It is clear that this is a rhetorical turn, but the possibility of introducing them into the chronicle makes her data on this issue less weighty than we would like.
Unfortunately, so far such a group of sources as birch-bark writings has been involved very little to resolve the issue of smerds. For half a century of studying them, the number of letters found has exceeded a thousand, and many of them are business notes or legal documents, that is, it is in them that we can count on the maximum correctness of the use of the term.
The first mention of a smerd here is charter No. 247, the first half of the 11th century. A certain smerd was accused of breaking into the amount of forty cuts, the author of the letter reports that the lock and doors are intact, the owner (apparently, the premises, which the smerd was accused of breaking into) does not want to initiate a case, therefore a fine should be collected from the slanderer, and the smerd owes something to pay the "Vladyka", the Bishop of Novgorod (obviously, a fee for legal proceedings). At the end of the letter, it is said that the beating of the slanderer with stinks is either possible or not possible.
The only thing that can be said about the status of a smerd is that he clearly does not look like a slave. A slave - a servant, a serf - neither in the treaties of pagan Russia with Byzantium, nor in Russkaya Pravda - does not act as a party to the process, his master is responsible for it. Smerd, according to this charter, appears to be legally independent.
Less successfully ended for a representative of the social group of interest to us, the story described in the charter 607, dated at the end of the 11th century. Here it is said about the murder by some Sycheviches of a Novgorod smerd named Zhiznobud, they also seized the legacy of Zhiznobud.
Note that, apparently, Zhiznobud was not very poor. The Slavic name of the character of the charter is also noteworthy. Finally, he was somehow especially connected with Novgorod - "Novgorod smerd".
About the extremely complicated case of theft (or thefts) is reported by letter No. 907 from a certain Tuk Gyuryate (obviously, the then mayor Gyuryate Rogovich). In particular, one of the defendants is accused of receiving three hryvnias from "Ivankov Smerd" for silence. Here we can talk about dependence, although it is completely unclear of what nature, this stink from the unknown Ivanko. Whether he handed over his money or money to Ivanko is also unclear. In Ivanko they see the posadnik Ivanko Pavlovich, who took his place after Gyuryata.
Letter 724 reflects the clash of interests when collecting tribute from the population of Zavolochye at the end of the 12th century, and the mention in it seems to fit into Froyanov's version. However, both “people” and “villagers” are mentioned here, but smerds come “from Andrey” (Bogolyubsky?) and it is not clear whether we are talking about the local population or about some people who came to Zavolochye from Suzdal lands.
Letter 935, at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries, is a list of debtors or participants in some kind of pooling. Among the listed names there is a certain "smerd", the share of which is the same as that of Fedor, Gavrila and a certain Grechin, in which commentators see the well-known Novgorod icon painter of those times Olisey Grechin. This, coupled with the fact that the name of the smerd is not indicated, suggests that this is not about smerd, but about Smerda - a nickname or worldly name that the owner of a higher status received (in the "Dictionary of Old Russian Personal Names" N.M. Tupikov, we find personally free peasants with the names Kholuy and Kholop, as well as nobles (!!) named Peasant, there is also the name Smerd, also noble).
The most interesting is letter No. 410, dating from about the same time as the previous one. Among a number of debtors, three smerds are mentioned in it. The name of one of them is not readable due to a defect in the birch bark, the rest are called Doman and Bratsha. Their names in a number of others, the amounts associated with them, apparently do not correlate in any way with their status. On the other hand, the mere mention that they are smerds in this series makes the widespread identification of a smerd with a peasant or a villager in general very vulnerable. Finally, he draws attention to the fact that both of the surviving names of smerds are again Slavic, as in the already mentioned Zhiznobud.
This is the last mention of smerds in birch bark documents.
What emerges from the information about smerds in the birch-bark letters of Novgorod?
On the one hand, based on these data, smerds cannot be called just another name for the peasantry - otherwise they would not have been singled out in 410 letters
On the other hand, the diplomas also do not allow unequivocally joining Froyanov's version. First, as we have already seen in the case of the wrongfully accused smerd, smerds could act as a party in court. We also see their legal capacity in the fact that they (and not their owners) are given money on credit and are waiting for a return (410) - serfs or servants never act either as a party to a lawsuit or as a debtor.
The names of smerds make this version even more doubtful. In all three cases, as we have seen, these were Slavic names - Zhiznobud, Doman, Brother. Of course, this in itself may not mean anything, the less developed tribes neighboring the Slavs often adopted Slavic anthroponyms (one of the earliest examples of such borrowing is the Liv elder Dabrel from the chronicle of Henry of Latvia, in whose name it is difficult not to recognize the Russian Dobril), but it is strange that there are simply no other names for smerds! Indeed, the same Henry of Latvia, along with Dabrel, mentions many Livs with their own tribal names. Many letters have been preserved that directly or indirectly mention the non-Slavic neighbors and tributaries of the Novgorodians. From the 12th century to the 14th century, there are an abundance of names such as Nustui, Oyavelge, Tadui, Vigar, Igolaid, Munomel, Ikagal and others, others, others. So, never, not one of the carriers of the Finnish name is called a smerd. The carriers of Baltic anthroponyms such as Domant, Omant, Rimsha, Kulba are also not called smerds. Enigmatic "wild people" and "vezhniki" found in letters of the 12th century, in which A.A. Zaliznyak suggests Karelians or Lapps, also not classified as smerds. It seems very unlikely, given this, that the term "smerd" refers to slaves or tributaries of non-Slavic origin.
What is the general conclusion?
The data of birch bark letters about smerds do not fit into either the first or the second version of the explanation of this social term. Smerdy cannot be considered as a generalizing name for the peasantry, otherwise Bratsha, Doman and their unnamed comrade, who remained for us, would not have been marked as smerdy among other characters of the debt record. On the other hand, the fact that smerds could act as a litigating party or a debtor makes it difficult to classify them as personally dependent. The version about the connection of smerds with any other ethnic element does not find confirmation either.
Unfortunately, the study of birch-bark letters did not give an answer to the question about the basis on which people were attributed to the social group "smerdy".
The work of A.A. Zaliznyak Old Novgorod dialect, M .: Languages of Slavic culture 2004
The word "smerd" is now considered by many to be a curse (due to consonance with "stink"). In fact, until the 16th century, the term simply indicated the social position of a person and the rights and obligations associated with it.
Freestyle farmer
The word "smerd" is known to historians from "Russian Truth" and the following legislative acts. Outstanding historians (M.N. Tikhomirov, B.D. Grekov, B.A. Rybakov) tried to establish the place of this group in the ancient Russian social structure, and basically they succeeded.
According to the generally accepted opinion, a smerd is a capable peasant-landowner. Historians believe that this was originally the name of a full-fledged member of the rural peasant community, and as feudal relations developed, the concept was transferred to the peasant, whose overlord was directly the state (in the person of the prince or the boyar republic, as in Novgorod). He was under the jurisdiction of the prince, bearing duties and payments in his favor. Smerd was the owner of his property and passed it on by inheritance, but exclusively to his sons. In the absence of such, the prince became the heir, obliged from the inheritance to issue maintenance to the unmarried daughters of the deceased. But a similar practice in the era of feudalism also existed for the upper classes - there, too, a seigneur could become an heir.
Features of criminal liability
However, one can also hear the assertion that a smerd is a dependent person, equal to a serf (personally dependent servant). Proponents of this point of view appeal to the phrase "stink serfs" found in Pravda Yaroslavichi. In the corresponding article, the same vira of 5 hryvnias is assigned for the murder of a simple serf and a "stink serf".
However, most historians do not agree with this interpretation. They proposed two alternative versions. The first says that this article indicates that smerds could also (along with feudal lords) own serfs, and they received compensation for damage on an equal basis with the nobility. The second argues that the term indicates the type of work performed by the serf for the owner. Usually a kholop was a yard servant, but some were also engaged in agriculture. Such people could be called "smerds serfs", that is, those who are closer to smerds by occupation.
The fact is that the responsibility for causing damage to a smerd or killing him in the legislation of Ancient Russia was lower than in relation to “people”, that is, unambiguously free, ignoble individuals. But the work of the farmer was then generally valued low.
Temporarily obligated
Smerd could also move into other categories temporarily. For such cases, there were separate terms. So, a smerd who borrowed from a feudal lord became a “purchase” (“kupa” - debt). If he agreed with the feudal lord to perform some special work for him, then he became a "ryadovich" ("row" - contract). Zakupy and Ryadovichi were limited in their rights, in particular, they could not leave their place of residence or refuse to work. But this lasted until the debt was paid or the work was done. Then the ryadovich or the purchase again became a smerd. Laws protected some of their rights (in particular, the feudal lord did not have the right to demand more than specified in the contract).