Pavel B. Lukin Assemblies and Councils in Medieval Novgorod and Western Pomerania How Did Medieval Novgorod Differ Politically F

Pavel B. Lukin Assemblies and Councils in Medieval Novgorod and Western Pomerania How did Medieval Novgorod differ politically from other Old Russian states? In a number of ways, of course, and experts may argue over which of them was the most important. One particularly striking feature of Novgorod’s political system was the extent to which collectivity played a role—and although collective political institutions did exist in other Russian states during certain historical periods, they never attained the same significance as in northwestern Rus’ (in Novgorod and in its “little brother,” Pskov). It is impossible to give an account of Novgorod’s history without discussing the veche and the Masters’ Council. And yet no other feature of Novgorod's political system has caused so much historiographical controversy as the veche and the Masters’ Council. However, some questions have recently been answered, due largely to a more complete study of Russian sources, as well as a consideration of the 13th-15th century Hanseatic documents in Latin and Low German—which, until now, have not been used much at all in socio-political research on Novgorod. First of all, was the Novgorod veche actually a political institution? Was it a governmental authority at all? Or (as some historians have it) did the veche simply refer to a sector of the population getting together actively? Was the veche merely a word for “the tumult of the crowd”? German merchants reported to Reval in 1407 that during business deals, “they [Russians] composed a deed in the veche [in deme dinge] and sealed it together.”1 A document from 1441 shows that the top officials of the Novgorod Republic—the governor [posadnik] and the captain [tysyatskii]—both participated in the veche.2 A 1406 source states that the veche had decided to send its “great ambassadors” to the decorated authorities.3 It is indisputable that a council at which official documents are sealed, a council at which significant political decisions are made, and a council involving senior officials is both a political institution and a governmental authority. 1 Hansisches Urkundenbuch (далее – HUB). Leipzig, 1899. Bd. V. S. 415. 2 Liv-, Est- und Curländisches Urkundenbuch (далее – LECUB). Riga; Moskau, 1889. Bd. IX. S. 511. 3 HUB. Bd. V. S. 413. In fact, the veche was the highest of Novgorod’s governmental’s authorities, which is apparent from its superior position in relation to individual officials. In December 1406, the captain [tysyatskii] announced to Novgorod merchants that, on the topic of their business, “he himself would not speak on behalf of Novgorod the Great; only the will of God and of Novgorod the Great could do this” (it wer Godes wille und Grote Nougarden...).4 The veche (“ding”) is not formally mentioned, but there is mention of a political entity that makes decisions at the veche: “Novgorod the Great.” This is not the only piece of evidence that the veche was held in higher political regard than even the highest individual officials: the same 1406 source shows that German merchants turned to the captain [tysyatkii] for resolution on another contentious issue. He replied that he could not answer them before he “consulted with the general veche of Novgorod the Great” (myt Groten Naugarden in deme ghemeynen dinge).5 Both Russian and Hanseatic sources indicate that the veche was open to all full citizens regardless of social status. In particular, a Hanseatic document from 1425 confirms that members of the veche stood6, and Russian materials show that the composition of the veche included all the categories of free Novgorod citizenry (in the 13th century: “higher” [vyachshii] and “lower” [men’shii] citizens, in the 14th-15th centuries: Boyars, zhity, merchants, blacks). The theory that the veche consisted narrowly and purely of Boyars has not been confirmed. By the most modest estimate of its area, the veche square could accommodate at least 3,000 people (its exact location is unknown, and all archeological attempts to discover it have been unsuccessful). At that point the Boyars occupied a position of undisputed leadership in Novgorod society, including in the veche. In 1337, German ambassadors were invited to come to the veche—to come to “the wise ones” (vor de wisesten in dat dinc).7 “The wise ones” (de wisesten) was the epithet used at the German congregation to denote the chief elder's four experienced advisers, who assisted him with administration and ajudication.8 And this was the word that the Germans used to designate certain members of the Novgorod elite—that is, the Boyars. The importance of the Novgorod Boyars was so well known to Novgorod's foreign connections that 4 HUB. Bd. V. S. 394. 5 HUB. Bd. V. S. 364. 6 LECUB. Riga; Moskau, 1881. Bd. VII. S. 221. 7 LECUB. Bd. VI. Sp. 113. 8 Gurland M. Der St. Peterhof zu Nowgorod (1361-1494). Innere Hofverhältnisse. Inaugural- Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde genehmigt von der Philosophischen Fakultät der Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen. Göttingen, 1913. S. 19. often messages would come addressed solely to them, rather than to the whole of Novgorod the Great. Lord Heinrich von Plauen of the Teutonic Order, for instance, wrote to “the respected father [ie, the archbishop. – PL] beloved lords, and our select, beloved friends, and all the Boyars of Novgorod the Great” (gemeynen beyaren czu Grote Naugarden).9 On the other hand, the German documents (which entirely affirm the unanimous evidence from the Russian sources) give no grounds to suggest the rural population’s involvement in the Novgorod veche. Indeed, specific descriptions of the veche assembly, which contain a number of messages from German merchants, seem to exclude it entirely. In 1425, German merchants complained that during one conflict the citizens of Novgorod “conducted one or two veche every day for five full days... and sometimes stood well into the afternoon, and then resorted to the courtyards, as if they wanted to boil some of us, and roast the rest.”10 If veche assemblies were held every day for five days at a time, always in the mornings, and if up to two assemblies could be held a day, then the people who participated in them must not have lived very far away from the usual veche venue: the Yaroslav courtyard on the marketplace side. This is located in the very center of Novgorod, and the inhabitants of surrounding villages simply could not have made it to the center every morning. But these same Russian sources assure us that the villagers were not simply forgotten: they did not have the same social rights as the townsfolk. According to the Novgorod Treatment of the Church Articles of Yaroslav the Wise (first half of the 15th century), an assaulted townswoman received a significantly larger compensation a village woman was entitled to for the same offense.11 In 1534, a few decades after the Russian state annexed Novgorod, the Moscow officials enforced “everyone’s involvement to help maintain the city” and made this known to the townsfolk. The indignant chronicler noted that this had “not happened since the time of the old great princes: the city was established by Novgorod rural districts [volost’], whereas the townspeople acted as warrant-officers.”12 This means that during the time of Novgorod’s independence, the construction and repair of the city had been the responsibility of the village, rural [volostnoi] folk, while the Novgorod townsfolk had merely supervised the work. So “Lord Novgorod the Great” in fact resembled other medieval republics, where the city center acted as the collective feudal lord to the slave peripheries. 9 HUB. Bd. V. S. 542-543. 10 LECUB. Bd. VII. S. 221. 11 Древнерусские княжеские уставы XIV-XV вв. М., 1976. С. 96. 12 ПСРЛ. М., 2004. Т. XLIII. Новгородская летопись по списку П.П. Дубровского. С. 234. There was also another collective body in Novgorod, of much narrower composition than the veche. Historians call it the “Masters’ Council,” but sources do not name it directly— and indeed, in recent years there has been a tendency to deny its existence. In fact, this council is not even mentioned in Russian sources, and the 1292 Hanseatic document on the assemblies between the citizens of Novgorod and the prince and his people also omit any mention of it. However, the Hanseatic documents of the 14th-15th centuries do refer to the Novgorod “masters” (“de heren” in the original), and the two missives from the mayor and council of Lübeck to Novgorod in 1448-1449 already explicitly mention the Novgorod “council” (rad). The Russian name for this collective body is unknown, but it is possible that the Low German de heren is a reflection of the Russian gospodá (Eng. “lord” or “master”) (an analogous collective body with the same name existed in Pskov). At the beginning of the 15th century, the Novgorod council was comprised of the governor [posadnik], captain [tysyatskii], and five Konchansky elders. By the 1440s, its composition was more extensive and included other governors [posadniki] and captains [tysyatskie]. The relationship between the veche and the “masters” was unclear. Formally, the veche took presidence over the council. A missive from German merchants to Reval on May 28th, 1409, desribes the Novgorod embassy to Sweden. Upon having returned, the ambassadors were to “report before the masters” (vor den heren), but their final account was given at the veche: “at the general veche (in dem ghemenen dinghe) such a report was given…”13 The actual relationship between the two bodies was more complex. The “masters” would often discuss an issue beforehand, “preparing” it for the veche, occasionally even vetoing the veche’s decision. The 1412 Hanseatic document explicitly protests that the Novgorod “masters” hid their missives and “did not present them to be known by the Russian merchants and the community” (ie, the veche) (deme Russchen copmanne unde der gemeenheit).14 When did the Novgorod collective political institutions emerge? Record of the “masters” first appears only after the post-Mongol period, but the first mention of the Novgorod veche goes back to 1015 (as for earlier, one can only cautiously assume that Novgorod citizens participated somewhat in their political life).

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