Friend

As a military force , the squad helps the prince in obtaining a profitable table, raises the importance of the prince in the eyes of the people : the prince, who managed to group the greatest number of skilled warriors around him, is the most reliable defender of his princedom - and this was of great importance in the era of constant tense struggle with foreigners . Therefore, the princes value their squad , cherish it, generously endow warriors.

The team in the dowel period is not connected with the land, but only with the prince. The ethnic composition of the squad was not uniform: in the prince's squads of the 9th - 12th centuries there are Varangians , Rus , Finns , Turks , Poles , Hungarians . The relations of the squad to the prince are based on a free agreement . Entry into the squad and exit from it are free: a warrior dissatisfied with the prince can always leave him and go to another.

The strength of the squad was different, but presumably did not exceed several hundred people (according to Ibn-Fadlan from 922 , together with the Prince of Kiev “ there are 400 men from among the heroes, his associates in his castle ”; B. Rybakov about the prince’s castle XI - XII centuries : "in total, according to rough estimates, 250-300 people could live "). The squad was the core of the army and probably made up the main part of the cavalry , but in large military enterprises the participation was noted as the main military force:

• at the end of IX - mid X centuries - troops subject to the prince of the tribes;
• in the second half of the X - in the first half of the XI centuries - regiments of "howls" formed by irregular sets for a long time;
• from the middle of the XI century - city regiments, marching on the decision of the veche and receiving weapons and horses from the prince.

In the XI - XII centuries, the squad is sharply divided into two layers: the oldest squad , sculpted (best), the front , and the youngest squad . The first was made up of princely men, boyars ; they held senior positions , military and civilian, - a posadnik , a thousand , a voivode ; they were advisers to the prince and the most influential component of the veche . The younger squad apparently consisted of several categories: ladies (stepsons or children), kmeti , grids , and boyar children . There is an opinion (prof. Sergeevich) that the young men constituted the lowest rank of the younger squad and performed official duties at the princely court; between them there could be unfree people, serfs, while children consisted exclusively of free people.

The concept of the prince as the leader of a vagrant squad and the ruler of the principality was completely different.

In addition to military service, members of the younger squad carry out various orders of the prince, accompany him as retinue and bodyguards . The younger squad does not participate in the councils of princes, with the exception of military councils, to which even foreigners who participated in the campaign as allies were allowed. In the annals there are references to the fact that some of the oldest warriors had their own squads . The prince contains a squad for the income that he receives from the volost ; in addition, the squad receives part of the military booty.

For killing a senior combatant, double supra is charged; over time, the princes try to spread the double virus to younger combatants. In the event of the death of the prince, the squad basically passed to his successor. Thus, in the principality sometimes appeared two teams, the old and the new, between which there was almost always a rivalry. The former usually claims seniority; but the second naturally enjoys the great confidence of the prince with whom she came. With the approval in some areas of individual branches of Rurikov’s house, the squad acquires a more settled, local character; in the XII century combatants already own land property. This feature gradually overshadows the previous functions of the boyars - bureaucratic and veche, as a result, the importance of the veche and veche regiments decreases. The equipment of the main part of the troops is decentralized. The boyars - once the closest associates of the princes - begin to be opposed to their new immediate support - the court .

With the separation of the lands-principalities under more stable princely power, this latter not only intensified, but also acquired a local, territorial character. The administrative, organizing its activities could not help but lay a hand on the formation of the military forces, moreover, so that the retinue forces became local, and the urban ones became princely. And the fate of the word “squad” with its hesitations testifies to this convergence of elements that were heterogeneous. The princes begin to speak of city regiments as "their" regiments, and squads composed of the local population are called squads , without identifying them with their personal squads - the court. The concept of prince squad greatly expanded by the end of the XII century. It embraces the influential upper echelons of society and the entire military power of the reign. The squad was divided into a princely court and nobility, large and ordinary ^[1] .

The existence of squads was recorded by written sources from the Germans who invaded the territory of the former Roman Empire (mainly in Italy and France) and among the Normans in northern France, northern Germany and England. As in Russia, the functions of the squad were collecting tribute, military campaigns and protecting the leader (king, prince). Initially, the squad was exclusively a foot army. The squad had a strong influence on the king and existed due to the booty, which the king shared with the warriors. With the development of feudalism, the squad gave way to the usual feudal army.

Words similar in meaning and sounding to the words “friend” and “squad” existed in some European languages: Old English ( drihtin ), Old Norwegian ( dróttin ) Icelandic ( drótt ) and others. It is believed that they all descended from the Proto-Germanic druhtinaz - an army, a gang.

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