Documents from the Reigns of Peter I through Nicholas II

[David_Pritchard]

[size=14]The Sudebnik 1497

Ivan III Vaselievich, Grand Prince of Moscow[/size]

Part 6

Concerning Loans

Article 55. And whatever merchant, departing on a business trip, shall take money or goods from another [for purposes of commerce], and on the way these goods shall, through no fault of his, be lost, for instance, shall be sunk, or burned, or seized by troops, the boyar [judge], after investigating the matter, shall order the Grand Prince's secretary to issue him a document entitling him to pay back the debt by installment, [which document shall bear) the seal of the Grand Prince, and [which document shall allow defendant] to pay plaintiff the principal without interest. But if [a merchant] shall take something to trade and then go and drink it up or through some other foolishness lose it in non-accidental fashion, such person shall be handed over to the plaintiff in slavery to make up the loss.

Article 56. And if a slave be captured by Tatar enemy troops and escapes from captivity, he shall be free and no longer the slave of his former master.

Concerning the Peasant Quitting-Time

Article 57. And peasants may leave a canton [to go to another canton], or [go] from village to village, once a year, for a week before and a week after St. George's Day in the autumn. For field living-quarters they shall pay one ruble, for forest quarters a half-ruble. And whatsoever peasant shall live one year under a given master and then leave, he shall pay one-fourth of the living-quarters' value, or if he lives two years and leaves, he shall pay one-half; if he lives three years and leaves, he shall pay three-fourths of the living-quarters' value, and if he lives four years he shall pay the full amount of living-quarters' value.

Concerning Foreigners

Article 58. And whatsoever foreigner shall bring suit against another foreigner, the defendant is free to take an oath [with cross kissing] that he is innocent, or he can lay at the cross that for which he is being sued, and plaintiff, after kissing the cross, shall take it.

Article 59. And a priest, and a deacon, and a monk, and a nun, and a sexton, and a widow, who are sustained by God's church, are to be judged by a bishop or his judge. And if a layman [is in litigation] with a church man, then a joint court shall decide the case. And if a widow is not supported by the church, but lives in her own home, then she shall not be under ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

Article 60. And if a person dies without a will and has no son, then all his personal property and lands [shall pass] to the daughter; and if he has no daughter, then his closest of kin shall inherit.

Concerning Fences

Article 61. And between villages and hamlets fences are to be erected by halves (i.e., each side putting up half the fencing), and through whose fence there shall occur damage by cattle, he whose fence it is shall pay the damages. And when meadowlands are far from villages or hamlets, then the owner of such lands shall not erect a fence, but he whose lands are ploughed fields next to the meadow shall erect the entire enclosure.

Concerning Boundaries

Article 62. And whoever shall plough up a boundary or cut down markers, be he from the lands of the Grand Prince [and trespass on those of] a boyar or a monastery, or from boyar and monastery holdings [and trespass] on the lands of the Grand Prince, or from boyar and monastery lands [and trespass] on [lands of another] boyar, or from boyar lands [and trespass] on monastery land, whosoever has ploughed up a boundary or cut down markers shall be flogged with the knout and the plaintiff shall take a ruble [fine) from him. And if peasants among themselves in a canton or village shall plough across or mow beyond a boundary, then the rural vicegerents or the estate manager shall take from him (the guilty one) two altyns in place of a ram and for bodily injury they will fine according to the person, the injury and the circumstances.

Concerning Land Litigation

Article 63. And if a boyar shall start proceedings against [another] boyar, or a monastery shall sue a monastery, or a boyar sue a monastery, or a monastery a boyar, then the case must be tried (trial must begin?) within three years and after three years action will not lie. And if a free peasant brings suit against another free peasant, or a pomeshchik (holder of land on service tenure) sues another pomeshchik who holds lands belonging to the Grand Prince, or if a free peasant or landlord's peasant sues a pomeshchik, or if a pomeshchik sues a free peasant or landlord's peasant, then the suit shall be brought within three years, and after three years action will not lie. And if a boyar or monastery are sued for lands belonging to the Grand Prince, then the case must be tried within six years, not more. And when lands are held by a bailiff pending litigation, the court shall complete the case.

Part 6

[David_Pritchard]

[size=14]The Sudebnik 1497

Ivan III Vaselievich, Grand Prince of Moscow[/size]

Part 7

Article 64. And judges reviewing a case shall have a review fee of two grivny from the party found guilty, and there shall be no review fee [for cases involving] less than one ruble. And for court records [sent up for review], and for cases dealing with land or slaves, there shall be no review fee. A review fee (an amount equal to a review fee?) shall be collected for all cases in which a judicial duel has occurred. And if a party shall declare the court record false and demands an investigation, then there shall be a review fee. And the bailiffs (podvojskim) shall receive an investigation-fee of four dengi, and it shall be collected from the loser.

Article 65. And whenever there are two city vicegerents in a city or two rural vicegerents in a canton, they shall have fees in accordance with this document, both [jointly receiving the fee] for a single vicegerent, and their deputies the fees of a single deputy, and they shall share the fees equally.

Concerning the Full-Slavery Document

Article 66. By a full-slavery document [one becomes] a slave. By taking the position of a deputy or village steward, one becomes a slave whether with formal report [to higher authorities] or without it, along with one's wife and one's children, provided they live under the same master; and those children who shall have begun living under another master, or by themselves, shall not become slaves; and by being a city steward [one does not become] a slave. Whoever marries a female slave becomes himself a slave; a woman marrying a slave becomes herself a slave. Slaves may pass by dowry and by will.

Concerning Bribes and Testimony of Witnesses

Article 67. And it shall be ordered proclaimed in the markets in Moscow and all cities of the Moscow and Novgorod territories, and decreed in all cantons that the plaintiff and defendant shall not offer bribes to judges and bailiffs and that witnesses shall not testify to what they have not seen, and shall tell only the truth concerning what they have seen. And if a witness falsely testifies concerning something he has not seen, and this is later discovered, then this witness shall pay the sum at issue and damages.

Fees for Judicial Duels

Article 68. And to the dueling field there shall ride a major-domo and a secretary, and the major-domo and secretary shall enquire of the litigants, plaintiff and defendant, who [of the people present] are their backers and sureties; and whoever are designated as backers and sureties shall be ordered to stand [on the sidelines], and backers and sureties shall have no armor, oak clubs or sticks in their possession. And if any outsider stand at the field, the majordomo and his secretary shall send them away. And if such outsiders do not go away, the major-domo and secretary shall order the sum at issue and fees paid by them and order them placed on bond, seized and brought before the Grand Prince.

FIN

[Alixz]

I thought I would join all these into one thread so that researchers can find what they are looking for.