The inner life of the townspeople 10-13th century. Everyday life in Russia in the XIII-XV centuries

Culture of Russiax-beginningXIIIcenturies.

Before political fragmentation, the culture of Russia was oriented towards the West, much was taken from Byzantium. Culture took shape both within Russia itself and under the influence of neighboring states. As for today, the most difficult cultural developments were villages and villages.

The adoption of Christianity had a great influence on the change in the culture of Russia, but paganism did not completely go away for many years. We remember that even today we celebrate holidays that are inherently pagan.

Life of the people.

Jewelry technique for gold and silver was widespread (bracelets, earrings, buckles, tiaras, even dishes were finished precious stones and metals). Woodcarving was the most beautiful. Feasts with honey and wine at the princes and warriors. Falconry, hawk and hound hunting was considered fun. Horse racing was arranged.

The Russians were very fond of the bathhouse.

It is impossible to understand the era without referring to the conditions of everyday life. The historian I. Ye. Zabelin wrote that a person's home life "is an environment in which the embryos and rudiments of all the so-called great events of history lie."

Everyday life the person is concentrated in the family. In ancient Russia, families were usually large. A grandfather, his sons with wives, grandchildren, etc. lived in the same family. Childhood was held in very harsh conditions, which was reflected even in terms applied to children: youth- "non-speaking", not having the right to speak; lad- "slave"; servants - younger members of the genus. The main method of education was considered to be flogging. Instructive beatings were the norm. Babies were sometimes sold into slavery by their own parents out of hunger.

However, the negative impact of abusive parenting should not be exaggerated. As V.V.Dolgov rightly noted, preventive cruelty was the only way to save a child's life in situations where a parent could not control his child all 24 hours a day (due to being busy at work, work, etc.). Of course, there were no nurseries, kindergartens and regular general education schools. The rich could still put a nanny to the child, but the poor? How to make sure that the child does not climb where it is not necessary, if he is left to himself most of the time? There is only one answer: to intimidate, to protect his life with prohibitions and punishments that can be salutary. He will not go into the forest with wolves, will not float down the river, will not set fire to the house, etc. In addition, the cruelty of upbringing did not cancel parental love, albeit in peculiar forms.

However, childhood, even so severe, did not last long, especially among the lower classes.

“The social boundary of final maturation throughout the entire Old Russian period was considered to be marriage. the fellow did not start living on his own. ”It seems that the property criterion was even more important, since adulthood is generally independence, and remaining in parental home, children could not have a decisive vote - all power belonged to the head of the family. Therefore, in the annals, the cases of princely weddings are always noted and described as very significant events, but the prince becomes an active political figure only after he receives the parish in his possession ...<...>

All this led to the fact that the society of the early Russian Middle Ages did not know a clearly defined age, up to which a person could, had the right and the opportunity to remain a child. There was no age of onset of legal capacity, there was no clearly defined period during which one should receive education, all this appeared much later. For a long time, the border of marriageable age remained the only institutionalized border that existed in the official culture. "

Among the peasantry, there were cases of eight- or nine-year-old boys marrying adult girls. This was done in order to get an extra worker into the family. The nobility got married and got married later, but weddings at the age of 12-15 were the norm. The adult head of the family - the husband - was complete sovereign among their household members. The spouse was considered only an appendix to the "strong half", therefore, the proper names of ancient Russian women almost did not come down to us: they were called either by their father or by their husband (for example, Yaroslavna, Glebovna, etc.).

The attitude to the weaker sex is illustrated by a well-known parable in the Middle Ages: "Not a bird in birds, an owl, not a beast in animals, a hedgehog, not a fish in fish, a crayfish, not a cattle in cattle, a goat, not a slave in slaves, [so] not a husband in husbands, who listens to his wife. "

Without the permission of her husband, the wife had no right to leave the house and eat with him at the same table. Only on rare occasions did women receive some rights. Before getting married, the daughter could inherit the property of her father. The slave who lived with the master as a wife gained freedom after his death. Widows had all the rights of head of the family and mistress.

However, also for husbands family life was not always light-hearted. Because of unequal marriages and age misalliance in medieval society, the problem of the "evil wife" was acute. A special article was even introduced into the legislation: "If the husband's wife beats, a fine of 3 hryvnias" (as for stealing a prince's horse). The same fine was punished for the case when a wife steals property from her husband, tries to poison him. If a woman persisted in her desire to destroy her husband and repeatedly sent a hired killer to him, she was allowed to divorce.

The people of Ancient Rus were called mainly by their first names, but often they also had various nicknames. Patronymics were rarely used. The person who was called by his patronymic (with the addition of the suffix -vich, for example Igorevich, Olgovich), was a noble; so called princes, later - large boyars. Personally free representatives of the middle classes enjoyed "half-patronymics"(suffixes were added to their naming -ov, -ev, -in, for example, "Ivanov Petrov's son", i.e. his father was named Peter). The lower strata of society did not have a middle name at all, only names existed. Also in Ancient Russia there were no surnames. They appear only in the 15th – 16th centuries, initially among the feudal lords.

To describe the main features of the life of Ancient Rus, let's start with the dwelling. In the Middle Ages, living quarters were small, consisted of one or several rooms (for the rich). In houses, the main furniture was benches and benches, on which they both sat and slept. The rich had wooden beds, carpets, tables, chairs. Household property was kept in chests or bags, which were stuffed under benches. In the dark, the rooms were lit with burning wood chips - torch or clay oil lamps, candles.

We can only partially restore the appearance of ancient Russian residential buildings according to archeological data. The main type was hut. It was a wooden rectangular log frame, set either directly on the ground, or on supports (stones, logs). The floor could be earthen or wood, from smoothly hewn planks. There was definitely a stove; actually the word hut and means "dwelling with a stove" (from istba, source, source). However, chimneys and chimneys were rare; all the smoke went into the hut. Light entered the houses through small windows cut into the walls. As a rule, they were "dragged": a narrow elongated gap in the wall, which was closed ("covered") with a board.

The poor lived in semi-dugouts. A rectangular hole was dug in the ground, the walls were reinforced with a wooden frame, which was coated with clay. Then over) "they built a plank or log roof, sometimes raising it above the surface on a small blockhouse. Since it is impossible to exist without heating in the conditions of the Russian winter, dome-shaped adobe stoves that were fired" in a black way "were also installed in semi-dugouts. In peasant houses, together with a family under one roof, behind partitions, could keep livestock.

The richer a person was, the more complex the structure represented his dwelling: a canopy and a cold cage, which served as a storeroom, were attached to the hut (warm living quarters). The well-to-do people combined the log-cages into whole galleries, which were sometimes built on special pillars on several floors. A similar residential complex was called in mansions, and if at the same time he was decorated with rounded gable roofs, six- or octagonal log cabins, then he was called tower. Princes, boyars, heads of the city administration lived in the mansions. Most of the buildings were wooden. Some churches and civil buildings (towers) were built of stone, but the latter are extremely few. In addition, in the courtyard of wealthy people there were various outbuildings: cellars, baths, cowgirls, barns, storerooms, etc.

The main clothing was shirt-shirt from canvas, for the rich - from thin linen. It was fastened with wooden, bone or metal buttons and was girded with a narrow leather belt or sash. Wide trousers were usually tucked into boots or wrapped in onuchi. The bulk of the population wore bast shoes or porsches(the leg was wrapped in a single piece of soft leather and tied up), in winter - felt boots. In winter, they wore sheepskin fur coats, warm clothes made of coarse wool.

The nobles dressed richer. The aristocrat could be distinguished by the fact that on his shoulders he had basket- a raincoat made of expensive fabric. Outerwear was decorated with embroidery, furs, gold and precious stones. mantle(neckline), burn(clothing floors) and whales(sleeves at the hands). The dress was sewn from expensive fabrics: axamita(velvet), pavoloki(silks). On the feet of the princes and boyars were high boots made of colored morocco (popular were red, blue, yellow). The headdresses were round, soft, trimmed with fur. Winter coats were made from sable, beaver, marten fur.

Food products were made mainly from cereals (rye, oats, millet, less often wheat) and vegetables. These were bread, various cereals, jelly, stews, decoctions, etc. Meat was eaten macho and more often pork than beef and lamb. But river fish enjoyed wide popularity, which was explained by both its cheapness and the large number of Orthodox posts. They drank bread kvass, honey, fruit decoctions. Dishes were used mainly wooden, in wealthy houses - iron, copper, silver.

The life and customs of Ancient Russia show us a medieval society that recently adopted Christianity, with a gradually growing social differentiation.

ancient Russia, culture, everyday culture, the structure of everyday life

The article examines the features of the everyday culture of Ancient Russia

Article text:

The Old Russian state - the state of the 9th - early 12th centuries. in Eastern Europe, which arose in the last quarter of the 9th century. as a result of the unification under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty of the two main centers of the Eastern Slavs - Novgorod and Kiev, as well as lands (settlements in the area of ​​Staraya Ladoga, Gnezdovo) located along the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks." During its heyday, the Old Russian state covered the territory from the Taman Peninsula in the south, the Dniester and the upper reaches of the Vistula in the west, to the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina in the north. The formation of the state was preceded by a long period (from the 6th century) of the maturation of its prerequisites in the depths of military democracy. During the existence of the Old Russian state, the East Slavic tribes formed into the Old Russian nationality.

Power in Russia belonged to the Kiev prince, who was surrounded by a squad that depended on him and fed mainly on his campaigns. The veche also played a role. The administration of the state was carried out with the help of tysyatsky and sotsky, that is, on the basis of a military organization. The prince's income came from various sources. In the 10th - early 11th centuries. these are mainly "polyudye", "lessons" (tribute) received annually from the localities.

In the 11th and early 12th centuries. in connection with the emergence of large landholdings with various types of rent, the functions of the prince expanded. Owning his own large domain, the prince was forced to run a complex economy, appoint mayors, volostels, tiuns, and lead a large administration.

There were palace officials who were in charge of individual branches of government. At the head of the cities was the urban patriciate, formed in the 11th century. from large local landowners - "elders" and vigilantes. The merchants enjoyed great influence in the city. The need to protect goods during transportation led to the emergence of armed merchant guards; among the city militia, merchants occupied the first place. The largest part of the urban population was made up of artisans, both free and dependent. A special place was occupied by the clergy, who were divided into black (monastic) and white (secular).

The rural population consisted of free communal peasants (their number was decreasing), and already enslaved peasants. There was a group of peasants cut off from the community, deprived of the means of production and being the labor force within the fiefdom.

In the era of the formation of the Old Russian state, arable farming with harness tillage tools gradually everywhere (somewhat later in the north) replaced hoe tillage. A three-field farming system appeared; wheat, oats, millet, rye, barley were grown. The chronicles mention spring and winter bread. The population was also engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Rural handicrafts were of secondary importance. The earliest was the iron-making production, based on the local swamp ore. The metal was obtained by a raw-blown method. Written sources give several terms to designate a village settlement: "graveyard" ("world"), "freedom" ("settlement"), "village", "village".

The main trend in the development of the social system of Ancient Rus was the formation of feudal ownership of land, with the gradual enslavement of free communes. The result of the enslavement of the countryside was its inclusion in the system of feudal economy based on labor and food rent. Along with this, there were also elements of slavery (servitude).

In the 6-7 centuries. In the forest belt, the places of settlements of a clan or a small family (fortified settlements) disappear, and unfortified village settlements and fortified estates of the nobility appear to replace them. The patrimonial economy began to take shape. The center of the patrimony is the "princevor", in which at times the prince lived, where, in addition to his chorus, there were houses of his servants - boyars-warriors, dwellings of smerds, serfs. The patrimony was ruled by a boyar - a fireman who ruled over the princely tiuns. Representatives of the patrimonial administration had both economic and political functions. Crafts developed in the patrimonial economy. With the increasing complexity of the patrimonial system, the estate isolation of unfree artisans begins to disappear, there is a connection with the market and competition with urban handicrafts.

The development of crafts and trade led to the emergence of cities. The most ancient of them are Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Rostov, Ladoga, Pskov, Polotsk. The center of the city was a bargaining where handicraft products were sold. Various types of crafts developed in the city: blacksmith, weapons, jewelry (forging and chasing, embossing and stamping of silver and gold, filigree, granulating), pottery, leather, tailoring.

The culture of everyday life in Ancient Russia.

Lifestyle. Since ancient times, the Slavs were distinguished by their respectful attitude to their elders. The head of the family was both his father and the chief; and all others: wife, children, relatives and servants obeyed him unquestioningly. Russians were meek and quiet, their modesty simplified marriage life, calmness and chastity prevailed in families.

Our ancestors were distinguished by moderation, content with what nature produced; they enjoyed longevity, were strong and cheerful, loved dancing, music, round dances and songs. Tireless in their labors and attached to agriculture, they were rewarded with abundant harvest, meat, milk and skins, which served as a cover from the weather. The kindness of heart, shown everywhere by hospitality and hospitality, was hallmark our ancestors.

There was a custom to invite a passer-by or a passer-by to your house, feed and greet him. The hosts welcome the guest with joy, serve everything they have on the table, and do not take any payment from him, thinking that taking money from a passer-by for bread and salt is a great sin.

The Russians did not like to find fault with words, they were very simple in handling and said "you" to everyone.

For a long time in Russia they got up before sunrise, prayed immediately to God, asking him for holy help for good deeds; without praying they did nothing. Whether they set out on the road, built a house, or sowed a field, first of all they went to church to pray. Before dangerous enterprises, they confessed and received communion. Faith strengthened the people during the greatest adversity. Before setting out on a campaign, no regiment will move forward without having served a prayer service, and without being sprinkled with sacred water.

Whether anyone sat down at the table or got up from behind him, he made the sign of the cross on his forehead.

Holidays were celebrated with reverent rites. During the festivities, everyone forgot the enmity and made up a single society.

Anyone who met an acquaintance or passed an unfamiliar, but somehow distinguished, greeted him by removing his cap and tilting his head. A stranger who entered a hut or lush chambers, first of all turned his gaze at the icon and prayed; then bowed and greeted.

Noblemen and rich people were arrogant towards the poor, but among themselves they were hospitable and polite. The guest was welcomed with hugs and asked to sit down, but the guest, entering the room, looked for the icons with his eyes, approached them, baptized himself and first made three bows to the ground, then turned to the hosts with a greeting. Shaking hands with each other, they kissed, bowed several times, and the lower, the more respectful it was; then they sat down and talked. The guest sat facing the images. Here he was treated to honey, beer, cherry blossoms. At the end of the conversation, the guest, taking his hat, approached the icons, baptized himself, made the same obeisances and said goodbye to the owner, wishing him good health. The owner answered him with a mutual wish and accompanied him without a hat to the porch; the beloved guest was escorted to the very gate, and the honorary guest was escorted even further, a few steps from the gate.

Clothes, suit (normal, festive) . Finds from the layers of ancient Russian cities, tombs and rural burials tell about the whole variety of local fabrics from which clothes were made. These are woolen fabrics, woven mainly from sheep's wool and fabrics from plant fibers of different structures (flax, hemp). Among woolen and semi-woolen fabrics, there are checkered and striped fabrics. Patterned fabrics are also known. Patterned and patternless ribbons, braids, laces and fringes made of woolen yarn are common in the 10th - 12th centuries. Cloth and felt items were widespread. Some of the fabrics were woven from natural brown, black, gray... Mineral dyes were also used - ocher, red iron ore, etc.

The main types of clothing were a shirt and ports, and among the nobility it was underwear, among the people it was the main one. The richer a person, the more layered his costume was. We can say that the shirt is the oldest of the clothes, because its name goes back to the ancient word "rub", that is. "The roughest". The length of the shirt, the material from which it was sewn, the nature of the ornaments were determined by social belonging and age. Long shirts were worn by noble and elderly people, shorter ones were worn by other classes, since, unlike the measured and unhurried life of princes and boyars, the everyday life of the working people was filled with hard work and clothes were not supposed to hinder movement. The shirt was worn for graduation and always with a belt (if a person did not put on a belt, they said that he was unbelted). The fabrics were woven narrow (30-40 cm), and therefore shirts were sewn with one-piece sleeves or a rectangular armhole. For the convenience of movements, gussets were inserted, for strength they were placed on a lining made of a different underlying fabric (this is what it means to “know the background of the case”). Festive shirts of the nobility were made of expensive thin linens or silks of bright colors and were decorated with embroidery. Despite the conventionality of the ornament pattern, many of its elements had a symbolic character, they seemed to protect a person from another evil eye and misfortunes. Decorations were “hinged” - removable: richly embroidered with gold, precious stones and pearls, collars - necklaces and arm sleeves - cuffs.

Ports, narrowed at the ankle, were sewn of canvas, noble men wore another one on top - silk or cloth. They were pulled together at the waist with a string - a cup (hence the expression "keep something in the store"). The ports were tucked into colored leather boots, often embroidered with patterns, or wrapped in onuchi (pieces of linen 2.5 meters), and bast shoes were put on them, into the ears of which the strings were tugged - obor, and they were wrapped around the onuchi. In our view, all sandals are the same. But this is not the case. The bast shoes were thick and thin. Dark and light, simple and woven with patterns, there were also smart ones - from tinted multi-colored bast.

The outer clothing was a retinue, a caftan and a fur coat. Vita was put on over her head. It was sewn of cloth, with narrow long sleeves, the knees were always closed, and was girded with a wide belt. The caftans were the most of various kinds and appointments: everyday, for riding, festive - sewn from expensive fabrics, intricately decorated. An obligatory part of a man's costume was a headdress, in summer - a leather strap, and in winter - a wide variety of hats - leather, felt, and fur. Ports, narrowed at the ankle, were sewn of canvas, noble men wore another one on top - silk or cloth. They were pulled together at the waist with a string - a cup (hence the expression "keep something in the store"). The ports were tucked into colored leather boots, often embroidered with patterns, or wrapped in onuchi (pieces of linen 2.5 meters), and bast shoes were put on them, into the ears of which the strings were tugged - obor, and they were wrapped around the onuchi. In our view, all sandals are the same. But this is not the case. The bast shoes were thick and thin. Dark and light, simple and woven with patterns, there were also smart ones - from tinted multi-colored bast.

In Russia, women always covered their heads with a warrior; to rip off a headdress was considered the most terrible insult (to go wrong means to be disgraced). Girls braided their hair in a braid or wore it loose, held up by a ribbon, braid or hoop made of leather, birch bark, covered with multi-colored fabric.

A festive costume was sewn for Sundays and patronal holidays, everyday costume for work at home, in the field and in the forest; rituals were divided into pre-wedding, wedding and funeral - "unfortunate". In addition, clothes differed both in terms of age and marital status: maiden and for a young woman (before the birth of the first child), for a woman of mature age and an old woman. They also dressed smartly on labor holidays: the day of the first furrow, the day of pasture, the day of the beginning of haymaking and stubble.

One of the most characteristic features of Russian folk clothing is its layering, which gave the female figure a sculptural monumentality.

In the old days, bright, elegant embroideries played the role of a talisman, therefore, their locations were clearly defined: the "embroidery" of the collar and wrists, the shoulder and bottom of the shirt, the field of the sleeves. Intensively embroidered, these places seemed to protect a person from evil forces. For embroidery, they used flax, hemp, wool, dyed with decoctions of herbs and roots, in addition, multi-colored silks, gold and silver threads. Ancient seams: painting, set, satin stitch, semi-cross determined the nature of the embroidery pattern and its connection with the structure of the fabric. The ornaments reflected the phenomena closely associated with the life of the peasants: the change of seasons, a bountiful harvest, flowering trees and plants, the figures of a woman - the progenitor of all living things, horses, birds, heavenly bodies - the sun and stars. From generation to generation, ancient simple patterns, under the hands of skilled craftswomen, were enriched with new technical techniques, and at the same time they conveyed a range of patterns used only in this area. the cloth. This ancient method of decorating clothes was used even in boyar costume, when pieces of precious overseas fabrics, left over from the cutting of large clothes, or already worn out, were sewn onto a newly sewn dress as an ornament. In addition to woven, embroidered patterns, inlays with fabrics, they used multi-colored "herbal" ribbons, bindweed, lace, sequins, gold and silver braids and laces. All this decorative wealth was transformed by the hands of talented embroiderers into a precious work of art.

Even "unfortunate" shirts were adorned, and even here the canons were observed in the use of patterns and colors. So, when mourning for parents, they wore white shirts with white embroidery, and for children - with black, made with a cross and a set. Only women widows had shirts without any "adornments", which they wore when performing the "plowing" rite. Women-widows were gathered from all over the village, and they were barefoot, simple-haired, dressed only in canvas shirts, had to plow the land around the village with a plow to prevent it from cholera and the death of livestock.

The shirt was used on all occasions in the life of a Russian woman and, having stood the test of time, passing through the centuries, freely entered our wardrobe in the form of a variety of one-piece dresses and blousons.

But in an old costume, the shirt was rarely worn separately, most often in the northern and central regions of Russia, a sundress was worn on top, and in the south - a poneva. Poneva is a type of skirt, consisting of three panels of woolen or semi-woolen fabric, tied at the waist with a narrow braided belt - gashnik: it was worn only by married women. Poneva was round, that is, sewn, or swing, consisting of separate canvases. Most of the ponevs were dark blue, dark red, less often black. Its dark field was divided by cells, and their color and size depended on the traditions of the province, village or village in which the poneva weaved. Ponevs, like shirts, were divided into festive and everyday ones. Everyday people got off at the bottom with a narrow homespun strip of braid or strips of kumach. In the festive season, much attention was paid to "lagoon" - that was the name of the patch on the hem, in which all the richness of decoration was used to the maximum: multicolor embroidery, braid, tinsel lace made of gilded and silver threads, herbal ribbons, bindweed, sparkles, bugles and beads. In round ponies, the seams served not only to connect individual parts, but also as an additional finish. The belt - "edging" was woven on a loom from multi-colored woolen threads, its ends were fluffed up and bead threads were interwoven among the threads.

Over the shirt and poneva they wore an apron - a "curtain" tied at the back with ribbons - "mutozki". sequin.

The ensemble was completed by a shushpan made of woolen, semi-woolen or canvas fabric with a very delicate decoration: mainly connecting seams and edging with red embroidery. The costume was supplemented with a complex headdress. For the entire territory of Russia, two sharply differing categories of headwear are characteristic. Maidens, leaving open the hair and parietal part of the head, were in the form of a hoop wreath or bandage. Women's headdresses were varied, but they all completely hid hair, which, according to popular belief, possessed witchcraft and could bring misfortune.

The basis of all varieties of South Russian headdresses of the "Soroka" type was made of a quilted canvas, compacted with hemp or birch bark, a hard forehead part, which was worn directly on the hair. Depending on the shape, flat or imitating the backward horns, it was called a bobcat or a horned bob. It was this detail that gave its entire structure one form or another, which was completed with the help of the upper part - a kind of cover made of kumach, chintz or velvet - Soroka; the back of the head was covered with a rectangular strip of fabric - backing. Around these three elements, a complex and multi-layered headdress was created. Sometimes it included up to twelve parts, and its weight reached up to five kilograms.

Numerous buttons, metal openwork and patterned, glass and simple were used not only for fastening, but also included in the decorative range of jewelry.

Colored wide belts were also a necessary part of the costume. The girls hung elegant handbags "for gifts" made from various scraps to their belts.

Legs were wrapped with onuchs made of white "Sweisk" cloth or canvas and they put on bast shoes, woven from elm or lime bast, or white wool stockings, "knitted in one knitting needle and leather shoes - cats, which were figuredly pierced with copper wire in front and behind for decoration. the last place in the costume was occupied by various decorations. In large numbers, necklaces made of pearls, pomegranates and gaitans were worn around the neck - beaded, amber beads, which, according to legend, brought health and happiness, necklaces made of chains. Large earrings "stuffed cabbage" and smaller, graceful ones were very popular. Delicate, easily movable "guns" - balls woven from goose down, which were worn along with earrings, were also a peculiar decoration.

Despite the picturesque multicolor, the integrity of the entire ensemble was achieved mainly by the found color combinations and ratios.

Color, ornament, symbolism acquired a special meaning in ritual and wedding costumes.

Family hierarchy. Family and marriage relations before the Baptism of Rus were regulated by the norms of custom, and the state did not interfere in this area at all. The conclusion of a marriage was carried out by the abduction of the bride by the groom ("umychka"). In the Tale of Bygone Years, this pagan method of marriage is attributed to the Drevlyans, Radimichs and some other tribes. Young people from different villages gathered on the banks of rivers and lakes for games with songs and dances, and there the grooms "snatched" the brides. The author of the chronicle, a monk, had a negative attitude, of course, to all pagan customs, but even he did not conceal the fact that the "snatch" was carried out by prior agreement of the bride and groom, so the word "abduction" here, in general, does not fit. The head of the family, the husband, was a slave in relation to the sovereign, but the sovereign in his own house. All household members, not to mention the servants and slaves in the literal sense of the word, were in his complete subordination.

The duties of the spouse and father included the "teaching" of the family, which consisted of systematic beatings to which the children and wife were to be subjected. Widows were highly respected in society. In addition, they became full-fledged mistresses in the house. In fact, from the moment of the death of the spouse, the role of the head of the family passed to them.

Baptism brought to Russia many norms of Byzantine law, including those concerning family and marriage relations. The family was under the patronage of the Orthodox Church, which is why family and marriage relations were regulated mainly by the norms of church law. The age of marriage was established according to Byzantine laws at 14-15 years for men and 12-13 years for women.

Christianity banned polygamy, which was practiced in Russia. Marital status becomes an obstacle to remarriage. The charter of Prince Yaroslav threatened a young wife with a church house (imprisonment in a monastery), because of which the man's previous marriage could be shaken. The latter was ordered to live with the old one.

Kinship and property were an obstacle to marriage. In an effort to strengthen the marriage bond, church statutes prohibited hidden forms of violation of marriage laws: adultery, sexual intercourse between relatives and in-laws. The Church considered marriage not only as a carnal union, but also as a spiritual one, therefore marriages were allowed only between Christians. The marriage after the Baptism of Rus was to take place in the form of a church wedding. Practice also knew the preservation of the former, pagan forms of marriage, which was condemned by law. In the premarital life of an unmarried man and an unmarried woman, the man was obliged to pay the ransom and marry the girl.

The list of reasons for divorce was almost entirely borrowed from Byzantine laws, in particular from Prokhiron, but taking into account Russian traditions. So, the marriage was moved when:
1) it turned out that the wife had heard from other people about the impending attack on the power and life of the prince, but hid it from her husband;
2) the husband found his wife with an adulterer or this was proved by the testimony of rumors;
3) the wife had a plan to poison her husband with a potion or knew about the murder of her husband being prepared by other people, but did not tell him;
4) the wife, without the permission of her husband, attended feasts with strangers and stayed the night without her husband;
5) the wife attended day or night (it did not matter) the games, despite the prohibitions of the husband;
6) the wife gave a tip to the thief to steal her husband's property, or she herself stole something or committed theft from the church.

Personal and property relations between parents and children were built on the basis of traditional rules, with changes introduced by canonical norms. The power of the father was indisputable, he had the right to resolve intra-family disputes, to punish children. The law is rather soft on children born out of wedlock. The Church Charter of Yaroslav, of course, punishes the girl who, while living in the house of her father and mother, gave birth to a premarital child. The Charter also punishes the wife who gave birth to an illegitimate child. However, the abandonment of a baby by an unmarried girl or getting rid of the fetus is also condemned. The main idea of ​​the legislator is clear: children should be born in marriage, but if an unmarried woman conceived, she should give birth to a baby.

Parenting. The pre-Christian era is characterized by a variety of educational forms. In the 6th century, elements of mentoring began to emerge among the ancient Slavic tribes. Under matriarchy, children of both sexes were brought up in the mother's house, then the boys moved to the men's house, where they learned practical skills. The upbringing of children was entrusted to mentors who taught worldly wisdom in "youth homes". Later, the closest relatives (uncles) were involved in the upbringing and education of children. In the absence of such, these functions were performed by the nearest neighbors ("nepotism"). Thus, in the VI - VII centuries. among the Eastern Slavs, the priority was given to out-of-family education. Since the 8th century, parents stopped giving their children to strangers. Since that time, we can talk about the emergence of the educational function in the family. The main methods of public education were nursery rhymes, ditties, riddles, fairy tales, epics, lullabies. They revealed the best features of the Slavic folk character: respect for elders, kindness, fortitude, courage, hard work, mutual assistance. They reflected the rich and original history of the Slavic people, strengthening and accompanying it from the first years of life. In the studies of S.D. Babishina, B.A. Rybakov showed a fairly high general cultural level, distinctive national character education in pre-Christian Russia. It is concluded that neither the pedagogical thought, nor the educational system in Ancient Russia were a Byzantine copy, and "the general culture of the Russian people was highly pedagogical."

The Christian era in folk pedagogy began with the illumination of Rus by the Baptism of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.

The upbringing of the children of the princely family had its own characteristics. Children of the princely family were passed on to be raised in another family. This form of upbringing is called "feeding". Feeding is a social and pedagogical phenomenon in Russia in the X-XII centuries. - characterized as mentoring and responsibility for the moral, spiritual and physical education of young princes. They received their first knowledge at court - in the school of "book learning", where they studied with the children of boyars and vigilantes. The first school of "book teaching" was opened in Kiev in 988, then in Novgorod in 1030 and other cities.

In the popular practice of family education in Russia, the main emphasis was on obedience as the main element of worshiping God. The logic of reasoning justified it as follows: the husband, as the head of the family, must honor God, and the wife must humble herself before her husband, while children must honor their parents. It was believed that the falling away of people from the faith leads to the fact that the husband ceases to honor God, to live according to His will, and the wife's disobedience to her husband occurs. And as a result, two naughty people have a naughty child.

The main pedagogical principle of this period was the reproduction (transfer) of the way of life to the education system, enshrined in the first literary monuments of Ancient Russia.

A feature of the educational system in Ancient Rus with the advent of Christianity was the performance of this function by the clergy, which passed to them from respectable neighbors. When the baby was baptized, the godfather was called the "godfather" and since then was considered the second father, was revered and respected by the godson. Before God and people, he was responsible for the future of his pupil, his deeds and actions, and in the event of the loss of his parents, he replaced them, took the godson to his house as his own son. But the most important thing that the godfather had to do was to tirelessly pray for his godfather and monitor his spiritual life and spiritual maturity. It can be concluded that Christianity is based on the prevention of social orphanhood, which is spreading on such a scale in societies that lack faith and responsibility before God.

Christianity as a methodology has significantly influenced the general dissemination of knowledge and literacy. The priests, fulfilling God's will, actively influenced these processes. Thus, the holy Metropolitan Michael of Kiev blessed the teachers and gave instructions on how to properly teach. In Novgorod, Smolensk and other cities, schools and colleges were organized at the departments of bishops for teaching children to read and write. Gradually, in different cities of Russia, priests began to teach children of all classes to read and write at churches, schools and colleges. Over time, not only priests, but also people of non-church rank - "masters of literacy" - began to teach children. Boys were educated by priests or "masters", women's education was concentrated mainly at women's monasteries, of which there were about 10 before the Tatar-Mongol invasion. literacy, writing and singing prayers.

A special place in the system of family education in Ancient Russia was given to a woman. A woman was recognized as having the right to take care of children, to bring them up in good manners. A woman was supposed to be educated, since she was not only the keeper of the hearth, but also the first mentor of children in good and righteous deeds.

Home and its organization. Initially, the dwellings were log cabins, which were usually placed at random. Inside there was one common room, and annexes for livestock and poultry, for storing agricultural implements, bread, hay, etc. were adjacent to it. Owins or threshing floors stood not far from the huts.

The desire to create maximum comfort with minimal means determined the laconicism of the interior, the main elements of which were a stove, fixed furniture (benches, shelves), movable furniture (table, bench) and various styling (chests, boxes).

The Old Russian stove, completely included in the hut, was both literally and figuratively a home hearth - a source of warmth and comfort.

Judging by the prostate of the morals of that time, it can be assumed that the huts and mansions were erected without decorations, built of wood. The living quarters were located inside the courtyard and were surrounded by wooden fences with a lattice or without a lattice with a palisade. Of course, the rich did it; and the rest surrounded their dwelling with wicker or left open. Stone buildings appeared in the middle of the 10th century.

Rural huts built at that time did not differ much from each other: they were low, covered with boards and straw. The townspeople built tall houses and usually lived upstairs. The lower part of the house was then allocated for cellars, called medushki, since honey was stored in them, and for storerooms. The house was divided into cages (rooms). It was divided in half by a passage, sometimes called a platform. At a distance from the house, special bedchambers, or odrins, were built, whose name indicates that there were beds here, which served not only for a night's sleep, but also for an afternoon.

The reception rooms in the grand ducal chambers were called gridnits. Boyars, gridniks, centurions, ten's and all deliberate people were treated to them. In the courtyard, towers and tumblers for pigeons (pigeons) were built. Mansions were called tall wooden houses, and towers were chambers or rooms located in the upper tier.

The living quarters were lit with candles and lamps. In the grand ducal and boyar mansions, wax candles were burning, because there was an abundance of wax. People of modest means burned ordinary oil, poured into round earthen vessels - kaganets or zhirnik.

The walls of the rooms were not decorated with anything, only the rich had oak tables and benches; they stood along the walls, often covered with carpets. In those days, they did not know either chairs or armchairs. When receiving ambassadors, the Grand Dukes sat on a lofty round seat that replaced the throne; during dinners - on ordinary benches covered with fabrics - silk and velvet. The decoration of the rooms usually consisted of images of holy martyrs and saints, inserted into icon cases and hung in the corner. An icon lamp glimmered in front of them, and on holidays the images were also illuminated with wax candles. There was a place of honor under the icons; there was a table covered with white cloth.

Much later, such types of buildings as log cabins, huts, huts and stone buildings appeared in Russia.

Food intake. Our ancestors, living in patriarchal simplicity, were content with little: half-baked food, meat, roots. In the 11th century they also ate millet, buckwheat and milk; then they learned how to cook dishes. They did not spare anything for the guests, showing their hospitality with abundant meals.

At the table boiled honey - the oldest and favorite drink of all Slavic tribes. Honey was our first drink, and it became very strong. At that time they did not breed bees, they themselves were found in the forests. Honey was: cherry, currant, juniper, prefabricated, raspberry, princely, boyar, etc.

Our ancestors began to grow grain, and at the same time they began to bake bread and make kvass. In the 10th century, it was already in general use, and even doused with kvass in a bath.

The beer was formerly called "olui". It was made strong, had different names and colors (light or dark).

In Ancient Russia there was no shortage of fruits or food: fish, game and meat were in abundance.

Feasts were then common, and it was customary that the rich treated the poor. The grand dukes themselves treated the guests; ate and drank with them.

Pepper came to us from Constantinople and Bulgaria. From there we got almonds, coriander, anise, ginger, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and other spices that served as a seasoning for our dishes.

Flour for baking bread was prepared in mills or in millstones by hand.

The common people ate rather poorly: bread, kvass, salt, garlic and onions were their main food. Cabbage soup, porridge and oatmeal jelly were prepared everywhere. The cabbage soup was cooked with a piece of lard or beef. They were a favorite food at court.

Delicious bread, fish - fresh and salted, eggs, garden vegetables: cabbage, cucumbers - salted, vinegar and fresh, turnips, onions and garlic were considered the best dishes.

Our ancestors from the most ancient times did not use veal, hares, pigeons, crayfish and the meat of those animals that were slaughtered by the hands of a woman, considering them defiled.

Domestic servants were involved in the preparation of food. But if a woman needed to slaughter a bird for the table, and none of the men were at home, she would go out the gate with a knife and ask the first passer-by to do it.

Our ancestors strictly observed the fasts: on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and even Saturdays. Even the seriously ill did not dare to eat meat.

Baking bread required knowledge and experience, and the hostess who did not possess this skill was not appreciated, because it was believed: in whose house there is good bread, in that is a good hostess. Wheat and cereal breads were baked on sweets, with different images.

The pies were baked with various fillings: eggs, cabbage, fish, mushrooms, rice, etc. Sweet pies cooked in sugar, with raisins, jam and spices were called levashniki.

They ate several times a day, but usually they had breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and supper. After a hearty lunch, we rested for several hours.

We had breakfast early in the morning, lunch around noon, lunch around four or five o'clock, and supper after sunset. Then, an hour later, they prayed to God and went to bed.

Family rituals and ceremonies.

BAPTISM. Childbirth and raising children in Russia have long been surrounded by various beliefs, rituals and traditions. Many centuries ago, as now, expectant mothers tried to easily get rid of the burden, parents wanted to protect their children from the evil eye, bring them up to be hardworking and polite, and teach them to read and write.

Even during pregnancy, women learned from the midwives an old slander, which they then read to their children in the womb: “From you, my light, my droplet, I myself will ward off any misfortune. My love will be a dome for you, all patience will be a cradle, and consolation will be a prayer. I wait for you, my light, like the land of the dawn, like the grass of dew, like the flowers of rain. " The sound of these gentle words had a beneficial effect on the child, and in the mother it created the correct mood before childbirth.

The birth of a person into the world has always been considered a great sacrament, for which a woman began to prepare long before the event itself. Already at the wedding, it was customary to wish the young: "God grant you, Ivan Ivanovich, to get rich, and you, Marya Petrovna, be hunchbacked in front." Midwives who mastered the art of obstetrics enjoyed special respect in Russia. Not every woman could become a midwife, for example, it was forbidden to those whose own children suffered from some kind of illness. And, of course, much attention was paid to the purity of the midwife's thoughts, because the lives of both the woman in labor and the new person directly depended on her.

As soon as a woman's labor began, the midwife took her away from her home (often the birth took place in a bathhouse). It was believed that one should beware of "dashing people" or "evil eye", which could harm a newborn. Therefore, the presence of anyone, even the closest family members, during childbirth was prohibited. The child's father was instructed to pray earnestly in front of the icon and observe fasting.

The day of the baptism was chosen at random. If the child was weak or threatened with an early death, then he was immediately baptized.

In ancient times, at birth, they were named after the saint who fell on the eighth day after birth. Our ancestors had two names, one was given at birth, the other (secret) at baptism.

The custom of having godparents has existed in the Christian Church since ancient times. The baptism was immersive. The priest reads incantatory prayers. This is followed by the denial of the catechuchman, or in the case of his infancy, by his godfather, from Satan. And they, saying "I deny", blow and spit three times, turning back; and then, turning to the east, they assure us of union with Christ and read the "Symbol of Faith." Then the priest, anointing with oil, immerses the catechuchman three times in lukewarm, as if summer water, reads a prayer and puts a white robe and a cross on the baptized one.

When putting on white clothes, the troparion is sung. After baptism, chrismation follows, the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, hands and soles of the feet are anointed.

Then the priest, having walked three times with the baptized person and his godparents around the font, having read the Gospel and washed the members of the body, anointed with myrrh, cut his hair crosswise while reading the prayer; After sticking them in wax, gives them to the godfather, who throws them into the font, the water is then poured into a place that is not supported by feet.

When a baby is baptized, the recipient (godmother) supplies him with a shirt and a headdress, and the recipient - with a cross; each of them presents the mother and child with a generous gift, which is called “by the teeth”: matter, money, who can do what they can.

The parents of the baptized person are not present at the baptism of their child. After baptism, the priest instructs the godparents to take care of the instruction of the godson or goddaughter in the Orthodox faith and in everything a Christian needs.

In addition to weddings and christenings, in Ancient Russia there were many rituals and festivals, both Orthodox and pagan: name days, red hill, radonitsa, yarilo, Easter, Russian week, Trinity day, Christmastide, Shrovetide and many others. Each holiday had a certain algorithm of providence and was celebrated on a special scale.

Literature

1. "Archeology. Ancient Russia. Life and culture "ed. B.A. Rybakov. M. - 1997
2. L. Belovinsky "History of Russian material culture", M. - 2008
3. Ovsyannikov Yu. M. "Pictures of Russian life", M. - 2000
4. Rabinovich M. G. "Essays on the material culture of the Russian feudal city", M. - 1990
5. Semyonova M. "Life and beliefs of the ancient Slavs", St. Petersburg. - 2001
6. Tereshchenko A. V. "The history of the culture of the Russian people." M. - 2007

Everyday life and everyday life of the Eastern Slavs Presentation of the history teacher Artamonova I.A.

What our ancestors Vyatichka looked like. Reconstruction based on a skull from a burial mound near Savvinskaya Sloboda: a version of the State Historical Museum // Anthropological reconstruction and problems of paleoethnography. - M., 1973 .-- S. 22. Krivich. Reconstruction based on the skull from the Odintsovo burial mound // Anthropological reconstruction and problems of paleoethnography. - M., 1973 .-- S. 23.

Dwelling of the Eastern Slavs 1. A semi-earthy dwelling with a stove. VIII – X centuries. 2. A semi-earthen dwelling with a clay oven. X – XI centuries. 3. Above ground dwelling with a combined stove (stone and clay). X – XI centuries 1. Dwelling of ancient Kiev. The city of Vladimir. XII-XIII centuries. Reconstruction by P.P. Tolochko and V.A. Kharlamov. 2. Dwelling of ancient Kiev. The city of Izyaslav - Svyatopolk. XII-XIII centuries. 3. Images of gates in the Novgorod icon painting. XVI century

Semi-dugouts

The clothes of the Eastern Slavs. Shirt, women's, differed from men's in greater length and, obviously, more abundant decorations - embroidery or patterned fabric. Men's pants (ports) Outerwear - zhupan, basket, cloth, casing, retinue - a long, tight-fitting garment Belts that were made either from various fabrics and in such cases were simply tied, or made of leather and had metal buckles, and sometimes also typesetting plaques and tips Caps Women's hats: silver plates with a curl at the end - forehead corollas - and ornamented plates that reproduce the shape of a human ear - headphones

Women's clothing A noble girl in the 11th century. (Costumes of ancient Russian women of the pre-Mongol period. Reconstruction by S. Strekalov according to descriptions of sources) // Pushkareva N. L. Women of Ancient Russia. Married woman in the 11th century (Costumes of ancient Russian women of the pre-Mongol period. Reconstruction by S. Strekalov according to descriptions of sources) // Pushkareva N. L. Women of Ancient Russia Maiden shirt // Korotkova M. V. Traditions of Russian life

Men's clothing Ports // Korotkova M.V. Traditions of Russian life. Men's shirt // Ancient clothing of the peoples of Eastern Europe: Materials for a historical and ethnographic atlas. Peasant clothing

Shoes a - bast shoe; b, c - pistons; d, e, f - chobots; g, h - boots // Ancient clothing of the peoples of Eastern Europe: Materials for a historical and ethnographic atlas.

Hats 1. Slavic hemispherical hats with a band of fur. 2. "Hat of Monomakh". End of XIII - beginning of XIV century. 3, 4. Pagan idols (wood and stone) wearing hats of various shapes. 5. Images of musicians in pointed caps from a 12th century bracelet. Two-horned kick - a headdress. XII-XIII centuries. Reconstruction.

Clothing accessories Horseshoe-shaped spiral-conical brooches and brooches with thickened ends. X-XII centuries Bronze and copper buttons, as well as metal necklaces with rich jewelry and coin pendants. IX-XIII centuries

Traditional cuisine of the Eastern Slavs Rye or "black" bread. Loaf From sour dough, ritual cookies were baked, specially designed for annual and family holidays (on Holy Thursday, cookies were prepared in the form of animal figurines (goats, cows), which were given to cattle, by March 9 (“forty martyrs”) to commemorate the arrival birds were baked from larks dough, on Ascension - ladders, on Epiphany - crosses, on Easter - Easter cakes) Dumplings with various fillings. Soups prepared with boiled dough, selected with a spoon (dumplings) or torn off (rags); cabbage soup and nettle, borscht, hodgepodge, pickle, fish soup, okroshka, beetroot, botvinia. From custard or steamed flour - salamata (or salamaha), from sweet malt flour - kulag (kvash) with the addition of viburnum berries or fruits. Kissel. Porridge - made from oatmeal, buckwheat, barley, wheat groats - was boiled in water and milk, steamed in the oven. Hot liquid dishes (stews, yushki) Jellied (jelly, jellied meat). The most important drinks in our ancestors, apart from birch sap and cranberry juice, were kvass and cabbage pickle

Utensils Cup and ladle. 10-13 centuries // Russian decorative art from the earliest period to the 18th century. Wooden dishes of the 12-13th centuries: 1 - plate (traces of cutting meat are visible); 2 - bowl; 3 - bettor; 4 - dish; 5 - valley

Jewelry Kurgan Vyatichi are recognized by women's jewelry, first of all - the temporal rings of the Rings. 12th century

Jewelry a-g - temple rings (1/2 n.c.); z, i, n, o - rings; k, l, s, t - bracelets; m - bell; p, p - hryvnia; y, f - parts of necklaces; x, c, h, w - pendants (n.v.)

Games. Fun. Horses. 11-13 centuries. Ball rattle. 15th century. Clay. Found during excavations of the Kolomna Kremlin, Moscow region. The toy is a bunk on wheels. The harness is depicted with a carved outline. Wood, carving. Length 21 cm. Mid 12 in. Chessmen. Wood, bone, stone. 12-14 centuries

Paganism of the Eastern Slavs Pagan idol. Detail. The face of the brownie. Wood, carving. Head length 9 cm. Brownie. Idol. 12th century Tree

Gods of the Eastern Slavs Rod and Rozhanitsy Perun Khors Dazhdbog Stribog Simargl Yarilo Mokosh Veles Svarog

Characters of lower mythology Mermaids - souls of "pledged" deceased living in water Ghoul - "pledged" deceased, killing people and drinking their blood Volkolak - a werewolf sorcerer, able to take the form of a wolf Beregini - characters with unclear functions (possibly associated with plant cults ) Kikimora - negative female character, type of brownie Midday - female field spirits of noon Brownie - patron spirit of the house Bannik - master spirit of the Dvorovoy bathhouse - spirit master of the courtyard Water - spirit master of rivers and reservoirs Leshy - spirit master of the forest Baba Yaga I. Bilibin. Mermaid

Amulets Amulets with the image of birds. X-XII centuries Skate amulets. XI-XII centuries

Internet resources http://www.childrenpedia.org/ http://www.vantit.ru/library/item/797-slavyanskoe-gorodishhe.html http://www.liveinternet.ru/ http: // www. rusizn.ru/history018_009.html http://www.booksite.ru/enciklopedia/index.htm http://perunica.ru/istoria/1380-zbruchskij-idol-kak-on-est.html http: // ru .wikipedia.org

Life of Ancient Russia 12-13 centuries. What are its features? and got the best answer

Answer from A You do not know ... how?) [Guru]




Platbands, porch, roof slopes of northern Russian huts are decorated with a strict but elegant geometric ornament. Favorite carving motif is a solar rosette, an ancient symbol of a life of happiness and prosperity.
"Inside peasant huts were cleaned strictly, but smartly. In the hut in the front corner under the icons there is a large table for the whole family, along the walls there are wide built-in benches with carved edges, above them are shelves for dishes. The northern cabinet-post is elegantly decorated with painting - here the Sirin bird and horses, flowers and pictures with allegorical images of the seasons. The festive table was covered with red cloth, carved and painted dishes, ladles, and carved torches were placed on it.
They made everything from wood - furniture, a basket, a mortar, a sleigh, and a cradle for a child. Often these household items made of wood were painted. The master thought not only about making these things comfortable, serving their purpose well, but also taking care of their beauty, about making people happy, turning work, even the most difficult, into a holiday.
Spinning wheels were especially revered by the peasant. Spinning and weaving was one of the main occupations of Russian women. It was necessary to weave fabrics to dress your large family, to decorate the house with towels, tablecloths. It is no coincidence that the spinning wheel was a traditional gift from the peasants, they were lovingly kept and inherited. According to the old custom, a guy wooed a girl and presented her with a spinning wheel of his own work. The more elegant the spinning wheel, the more skillfully carved and painted, the more honor to the groom.
The townspeople had other dwellings. There were almost no semi-dugouts. Often these were two-story houses, consisting of several rooms. The living quarters of princes, boyars, warriors and clergy were significantly different. Large areas of land were also allocated for estates, farm buildings, log cabins for servants and artisans were built. Boyar and princely mansions were palaces. There were also stone princely palaces. Houses were decorated with carpets and expensive Greek fabrics. In the palaces, the rich boyar mansions, their own lives went on - vigilantes and servants were located here.
And different strata of society dressed in different ways. Peasants and artisans - men and women - wore shirts (longer for women) made of homespun linen. Men, in addition to a shirt, wore trousers, and women - skirts. Both men and women wore a scroll as their outer garment. They also wore different raincoats. In winter, ordinary fur coats were worn. The clothes of the nobility resembled those of the peasants in form, but the quality, of course, was different: clothes were sewn from expensive fabrics, cloaks were often made of expensive oriental fabrics, brocade, embroidered with gold. The cloaks were fastened on one shoulder with gold clasps. Winter coats were made of expensive furs. The shoes of the townspeople, peasants and nobility were also different. Peasant bast shoes survived until the 20th century, townspeople often wore boots or pistons (shoes), princes wore boots often decorated with inlay.

Answer from Anastasia Lis[active]
Life in Kievan Rus had a significant difference in the way of life of people from different regions of the country, cities and villages, the feudal elite and the general population.
The people of Ancient Russia lived both in cities large for their time, numbering tens of thousands of people, and in villages with several dozen courtyards and villages, especially in the north-east of the country, in which two or three courtyards were grouped.
The peoples located along the trade routes lived much better than those who lived along the Dregovian bogs and on the territory of the Urals. The peasants lived in small houses. In the south, these were semi-dugouts, which even had earthen roofs.
In Kievan Rus, the northern hut is high, often two-story, the windows are small, but there are many of them - five or six - and they all stretch towards the sun, rose high from the ground. A passage, a barn, storerooms - all under one roof are pressed against the side of the hut.