Vyatichi

According to the folk-etymological version given in the Tale of Bygone Years , the name Vyatichi originated on behalf of the ancestor of the tribe, Vyatko , - a diminutive form of the Slavic name Vyacheslav :

“After all, there were two brothers from the Poles — Radim, and the other — Vyatko ... and Vyatko sat down with his family in the Oka , from him they got their name Vyatichi” ^{[6] [7]}

This type of euhemerism , as the name of a tribe in the name of its ancestor, was characteristic of medieval Christian bookishness.

One of the scientific hypotheses connects the origin of the ethnonym with the Indo-European root * ven-t “wet, wet” ( praslav. * Vet ) ^[8] .

To date, the most relevant is the version that the name Vyatichi (* vętitji ) goes back to the root praslav. * vęt- “large” ^[9] , and, ultimately, is comparable with such ethnonyms as Yatvägi , Venedy (Veneti) and Vandals , going back to the same root ^{[10] [11]} .

According to archeology, the territory of the Vyatichi had the following boundaries. The southwestern boundary of the Vyatichi runs along the watershed of the Oka and Desna ^[7] . In the upper reaches of the Desna and its tributaries, as well as in the basins of the Oka, Zhizdra and Ugra tributaries, there is a strip where the Vyatich barrows adjoin the Krivichi , monuments with the seven-blade temporal rings of the Vyatichi are adjacent to the finds of the bracelets tied by the Krivichi temples in Smolensk – Smolensk – Koran region .

Then the Vyatichi border runs along the Ugra and Oka valleys up to the confluence of Moscow and the Oka, passing the basins of Protva and Nara ^[12] . Further, the boundary of the settlement of Vyatichi follows to the north-west along the right tributaries to the headwaters of the Moscow River (where Krivichy monuments are also found), and then turns eastward to the headwaters of the Klyazma ^{[7] [12]} . When Uchi flows into Klyazma, the border turns to the south-east and goes first along the left bank of Moscow and then the Oka ^[7] . The extreme eastern boundary of the distribution of the seven-lobed temporal rings is Pereyaslavl-Ryazan ^[7] .

Further, the boundary of the distribution of Vyatichi goes to the headwaters of the Oka, including the Proni basin. The upper course of the Oka is entirely occupied by Vyatichi ^{[7] [12]} . Separate archaeological sites of Vyatichi were also found on the upper Don , on the territory of the modern Lipetsk region ^[3] .

In addition to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Vyatichi are mentioned (as In-N-Tit ) and in an earlier source, the letter of the Khazar King Joseph, to a dignitary of the Cordoba caliph Hasdai ibn Shaprut (960s). ^[13]

The Arab-Persian sources mention the country of Vanthite . The Persian author Gardizi wrote about her like this: “ And in the extreme limits of the Slavs there is a madina, called Vantit (Vait, Vabnit) ”. The Arabic word “ Madina ” could mean both the city and the territory subject to it, and the whole district. In the Khudud al-alam , it is said that some of the inhabitants of the first city in the east (the country of the Slavs) are similar to the Rus. The narration is about those times when there were no Rus yet here, and this land was ruled by its princes, who called themselves the “ holy-malik ”. From here, the road went to Khazaria , to Itil Bulgaria , and only later, in the 11th century, Vladimir Monomakh's campaigns took place.

The subject of Vantit found a place in the texts of the Scandinavian chronicler and collector of sagas Snorri Sturluson . ^[14]

According to the Tale of Bygone Years , the Vyatichi and Radimichi were “from the kind of Poles, ” that is, the Western Slavs .

According to archaeological observations, the settlement of Vyatichi took place from the territory of the Dnieper Left Bank ^[8] or even from the headwaters of the Dniester (where the dulebs lived) ^[15] .

Most researchers believe that the Vyatichi substrate was the local Baltic population ^[16] . The predecessors of the Slavic population in the basin of the Upper Oka were representatives of the Moschinskaya culture that had developed by the 3rd - 4th centuries . Such cultural features as house-building, ritualism, ceramic material and decorations, in particular things inlaid with colored enamels, make it possible to classify its carriers as a balty-speaking population ^[12] . The archaeologist T. N. Nikolskaya ^[17] , who devoted most of her life to archaeological research in the Upper Oka basin, in her monograph “The culture of the tribes of the Upper Oka basin in the 1st millennium of our era” also concluded that the Upper Oka culture is close to the culture of the ancient Balts, not Finno-Finnish population ^[18] .

Vyatichi settled in the basin of the Oka at the beginning of the IX century . According to the Tale of the Provisional Years , in the 9th – mid- 10th century, the Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazars on a slab (presumably a silver coin) from a plow ^[19] . As with the other Slavs, the control was exercised by the veche and the princes. The findings of numerous treasures of the treasures testify to the participation of communities in international trade.

By the time of the approval of Oleg Veshim in the 9th century of the Old Russian state (from fields, words, Krivichi, Radimichi, northerners, Dregovichi and Drevlyans) with the capital in Kiev , the Vyatichi were not part of the Old Russian state.

In 964 - 966 (or 968 - 969 ) as a result of the campaigns of Prince Svyatoslav, the Vyatichi were temporarily subordinated to Kievan Rus . The son of Svyatoslav - Vladimir - again fought with the Vyatichi and imposed a tribute on them in 981 . They rebelled, and in 982 they had to be conquered again. Until the end of the eleventh century, they retained a certain political independence; hikes against the Vyatichy princes of this time are mentioned. In “The Instructions of Vladimir Monomakh ”, the leaders of the Vyatichi - Khodot with his son are mentioned: “ And in the Vyatichi walk for two winters to Hodot and his son, and to Korjdnu, walk the 1st winter ” ^[20] (between 1078 and 1084 years). During the XII century strife, the cities of Vyatichi are mentioned, which arose in earlier epochs. According to B. A. Rybakov , the main town of Vyatichi was Kordno (Kordno) ^[21] (identified with the village of Korno, Mosalsky district , now the village of Kornoye, Mosalsky district, Kaluga region) ^[22] .

The lands of the Vyatichi became part of the Chernigov , Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities. The last time Vyatichi are mentioned in annals under their tribal name in 1197 . Archaeologically, the heritage of the Vyatichi in the culture of the Russian population can be traced to the XVII century ^[22] .

From the VIII century begins the settlement of the upper reaches of the Oka Slavic population, Moschinskaya culture is replaced by an archaeological culture, which is compared by scientists with Romenskaya and borschevskaya . This is evidenced by cultural elements in house building and ceramics characteristic of the Slavs ^[12] . It is believed that in this case the Balts did not leave the former places of settlement, but adopted some customs from the Slavs who came. Thus, under the influence of representatives of the Moschinskaya culture, the Slavs have a tradition to bury the dead in barrows , which was not typical for them earlier, as is the custom for the construction of ring fences ^[12] . Characteristic features of the Slavic culture of the upper part of the 8th – 10th centuries are ceramics, similar in characteristics to Romensky, and stucco ware (pots, bowls and pans), most of which have no ornaments, the smaller has ornamentation similar to Romenskaya ^[8] .

In the upper reaches of the Oka, before the Ugra fell into it, the assimilation process proceeded most intensively and was completed by the XI - XII centuries .

Vyatichi advance to the northeast along the Oka valleys, and then Moscow , from the 9th - 10th centuries . This is indicated by the discoveries of several settlements with stucco ceramics in the Serpukhov , Kashirsky, and Odintsovsky districts of the Moscow region ^[8] . It should be noted that while Slavic colonization does not occur in the basins of the Nara and Protva . This period is characterized by a high density of Slavic kurgans with seven-blade temporal rings typical for Vyatichi. The largest number of such burials was found in the Moscow basin ^[12] .

Vyatichi dwellings were dugouts (4 meters by 4 meters ^[23] ), lined with wood from the inside; above the ground rose log walls with a gable roof. Settlements were located at large distances from each other and, as a rule, along the banks of rivers. Many villages were surrounded by deep moats. The earth, dug out of a ditch, was felled by the Vyatichi into a rampart , strengthening it with boards and piles , and then rammed until the wall reached the desired height. The entrance to the wall was made with solid gates . A wooden bridge was thrown across the moat before entering. Archeologists call the remains of fortified settlements ancient settlements, and unfortified settlements - settlements.

There are known ancient settlements of Vyatichi in the Glazunovsky district of the Oryol region (Taginskoye settlement) ^[24] , the Maloyaroslavetsky district of the Kaluga region ^[25] , on the territory of the Kremlin in Moscow ^[26] , in Ryazan ( Old Ryazan ) ^[27] .

Later, the Vyatichi began to build log houses, which were both housing and protective structures. The log house was above a semi-dugout, often built in two floors. Its walls and windows were decorated with carvings, which made a strong aesthetic impression ^[28] .

Vyatichi engaged in hunting (they paid tribute to the Khazars for furs), collecting honey , mushrooms and wild berries. They also engaged in podsechny agriculture, later - plowed ( millet , barley, wheat, rye), cattle breeding (pigs, cows, goats, sheep). At all times, the Vyatichi were excellent tillers and skilled warriors. In the farm, Vyatichi used iron axes, plows, sickles ^[22] , which indicates a developed blacksmithing.

Vyatichi for a long time remained pagans . In the XII century, they killed the Christian missionary Kuksha Pechersky (presumably on August 27, 1115). Late legend reports the adoption of Christianity in some places only at the beginning of the 15th century ^[29] :

In 1415, during the reign of the Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich, the son of Donskoy, the mtsenyans did not recognize the true God yet, why they were sent that year, from him and Metropolitan Photius, the priests, with a multitude of troops, to bring the people to the true faith. The Mtsenyans were terrified, they began to fight, but soon they were amazed by the blindness. Sent ones began to incline them to receive baptism; convicted by some of the mtsenyan: Khodan, Yushinka and Zakya were baptized and, having seen the light, found the Lord’s Cross cut out of stone and the carved image of Nicholas the wonderworker, in the form of a warrior holding an ark in his hand; then, amazed by the miracle, all the inhabitants of the city were in a hurry to receive holy baptism.

Above the dead, the Vyatichi performed trezny , and then they cremated , erecting small burial mounds above the burial site. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations in the basin of Moscow. A distinctive feature of women's burials Vyatichi seven-blade temporal rings are considered ^[7] . The Baltic influence on Vyatichi (through the local tribes of the Moschinsky culture ) is also spoken by characteristic ornaments - neck hryvnias , which do not belong to the number of widespread ornaments in the East Slavic world of the 10th-12th centuries. Only among two tribes - Radimichi and Vyatichi - they were relatively widespread.

Among the Vyatichi ornaments there are neck hryvnas, unknown in other ancient Russian lands, but having complete analogies in the Lithuanian-Lithuanian materials ^[30] . In the XI - XII centuries, the mounds of this region have already a characteristic Vyatichsky appearance, the burials are oriented head to the west, in contrast to the Balts, for which the orientation to the east is typical. Also, Slavic burials differ from the Baltic mounds in a group location of mounds (up to several dozen) ^[12] .

The Tale of Bygone Years describes the funeral rite of the Vyatichi as follows:

And if anyone dies, they make a treason over him. After it they put a big bonfire ^[31] , put a dead man on it and burn it . After that, collecting the bones, put them in a small vessel and put it on a pole by the road. So do vyatichi and now. The same custom is followed by Krivichi and other pagans.

Original Text (Old Russian)

And if it is clever, it is a creature, I am afraid, and I will be able to restrain myself, and I will go to the steal of peace, and I will eat it, and I will eat bones, I will put it on a court, and I will put it on my back, and I will put on a bone, and I will put it in a court, and I will deliver it on a card, and I will put a bone on it, I will sue the court, and I will deliver it on the back of it; See also custom and Krivichi and other progany. ^[32]

Anthropologically, Vyatichi from the Moscow region were close to northerners : they had a long skull, a narrow, orthognatous, well-profiled face in a horizontal plane, and a rather wide, moderately prominent nose with high perenose. V. V. Bunak (1932) noted the elements of similarity between Vyatichi and Northerners with Sardinians as representatives of the Mediterranean type, and referred them to the Pontic anthropological type. TA Trofimova (1942) distinguished among the Vyatichi Caucasoid dolichocophalic and sub-Ural types, which has analogies in the Finno-Ugric population of the Volga region and the Ural region. GF Debets considered it more correct to speak only about a small sub-Ural impurity ^[33]

• Vyatko
• Polyadie
• Khodot

• Nikolskaya, TN, The Culture of the Tribes of the Upper Oka Basin in the First Millennium AD / Ed. ed. M.A. Tihanova ; Institute of the History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences . - M .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1959. - 152 p. - ( Materials and studies on archeology of the USSR . No. 72). - 1500 copies
• Nikolskaya, TN. The Land of the Vyatichi: On the history of the population of the upper and middle Oka basin in the 9th — 13th centuries. / Ed. ed. Dr.Sc. V.V. Sedov ; Institute of Archeology, USSR Academy of Sciences . - M .: Science , 1981. - 296 p. - 3000 copies
• Grigoriev A.V. Slavic population of the Oka and Don watershed at the end of I - beginning of II mil. er / Editorial Board: V. P. Gritsenko, A. M. Vorontsov, A. N. Naumov (Ed.); Reviewers: A. V. Kashkin, T. A. Pushkin; State military-historical and natural museum-reserve " Kulikovo Field ". - Tula : Reproniks, 2005. - 208 p. - 500 copies - ISBN 5-85377-073-X .
• Vyatichi // Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Map of the settlement of the peoples of Europe in the IX century
• Reconstruction of the appearance of a woman from the Vyatichi tribe (1)
• Reconstruction of the appearance of a woman from the Vyatichi tribe (2)
• I. Zaitseva , T. Saracheva
• Mayorov A.A. Ancient Vyatichi and their special place among the East Slavic tribes of the 9th — 11th centuries. // Bulletin of the Kostroma State University. 2015. № 3. P.101−105.
• Mayorov A. А. Territorial groups of Vyatichi of the VIII — XII centuries // Bulletin of Kostroma State University. 2017. No. 3. P.18-21.