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Rus' law code Russkaya Pravda

Type Object Region Kievan Rus' Time 1071–1080

Russkaya Pravda (Русская правда) is the earliest written compilation of customary law of Kievan Rus', traditionally begun under Yaroslav the Wise, ce…

Timeline

  1. 1071–1074Kyiv · KyivAfter Iziaslav I regained the Kievan throne, the grand prince's court adjudicated noble blood feuds, cattle theft, and debt disputes using the Short Recension of Russkaya Pravda; wergild amounts were tiered by the victim's social rank, making it a daily basis of Rus' secular legal practice.
  2. c. 1075–1078Vladimir-Volynsky · VolhyniaWith land sales and the expansion of church estates, the principalities added to the Short Recension clauses on boundary demarcation, manumission of slaves, and merchant default; manuscripts in Volhynia, Novgorod, and elsewhere varied, but the core wergild system remained consistent.
  3. c. 1079–1080Kyiv · KyivAs Vasily I Yaroslavich consolidated the authority of the grand prince of Kyiv, Russkaya Pravda's status as the general code of customary law for all Rus' was further established; grand-prince court rulings were extended to the vassal principalities, laying the groundwork for the crystallization of the Long Recension in the 12th century and local codes such as the Statute of Vladimir.

Sources