Slavery in the Appanage Era 1

In February 1316 Grand Prince Mikhail Iaroslavich arrived from the Horde with a large Tatar force commanded by the posol (envoy) Taitemer, along with additional troops drawn from Suzdalia, ² and marched on Torzhok. Afanasii, the brother of the Muscovite prince, Iurii, and Prince Fedor of Rzhev rushed to the defence of the town with a Novgorodian army. It was a resounding Tverite victory. Torzhok was seized and the Trinity chronicler records that much ‘evil’ was done throughout the Rus’ land. ³ The Rogozhskii Chronicle adds that more than 1,000 Novgorodians were killed and the outer suburb was burned (‘i pozhzhe prigorod’). ⁴ To these events the Novgorodian Chronicle provides some additional important information. The battle was a terrible slaughter in which many boyars, seven of whom are named, and many merchants were numbered among the victims. Afanasii and Fedor and the surviving army fled into Torzhok only to be handed over to Mikhail, along with an astronomical sum of 50,000 silver grivnas. At approximately 200 grams per grivna, this translates into 10,000 kilograms! More reasonable estimates of 5,000 (probably the more accurate figure) are given in the Nikon Chronicle and 500 (probably much too low) in the Ermolinskii Chronicle. ⁵ The Novgorodian Chronicle further adds that Mikhail seized Prince Afanasii and the boyars as hostages, and dispatched them to Tver’ along with the remaining survivors who were sold for as much as he could get. ⁶ Moreover, the Nikon Chronicle adds the interesting and significant detail that Torzhok’s fortress was razed and its craftsmen brought to Tver’. ⁷ In 1317, according to the Novgorodian Chronicle, Archbishop David went to Tver’, seeking but failing to free the hostages. ⁸ The conflict was apparently resolved in a treaty between Novgorod and Tver’, dated 1317, which called for the release of hostages and a payment of 12,000 grivnas to be doled out in instalments. ⁹ Nonetheless, at least a year had passed and it is difficult to know how many hostages were repatriated and how many were sold into slavery.