ABSTRACT
COMMENTARY 13 The term Icholopy (ref. Chap. 2, p. 105, n. I) 'Kholopy tvoi Ondreyets s tovarishchi': It was customary for Russians, when addressing the Tsar, to use the pejorative diminutive of their Christian name without the addition of the patronymic. Kotoshikhin, p. 127, reports that boyars, senior officials and ambassadors, in their letters to the Tsar, described themselves as his 'bondsmen' (kholopy) and did not mention their own ranks and titles. Townspeople and peasants signed themselves 'your slaves and orphans'. The latter formula, with the writer's Christian name only, was also used by women of all ranks; but a woman who, in her letter to the Tsar, had occasion to refer to her father or husband, did so by his full name and title.
