Velvet book

In accordance with the decree of January 12, 1682, to carry out work on the compilation of genealogy books, a Pedigree Commission was formed under the Bit Order , which later became known as the House of Pedigrees (hereinafter referred to as the PRD). The order was headed by Prince Vladimir Dmitrievich Dolgorukov and the Duma clerk V. G. Semenov ^[2] . Later, based on the litter available on the murals, the pedigree on compiling the BC was carried out by the okolnichny I. A. Zhelyabuzhsky , clerks P. F. Olovyannikov and L. A. Domnin, and in the 1690s the boyar T. N took part in the work Streshnev and clerks I. Kobyakov and M. Gulyaev.

It was supposed to compile four new genealogy books:

• The first book was intended for births, representatives of which were in the Duma or had ever reached duma ranks . “Old and honest clans,” whose ancestors held the highest military-administrative posts since the time of Ivan IV the Terrible , about which there was “clear evidence”, should have been included here;
• The second book is for childbirth, whose representatives also held the highest military administrative posts or served by choice, but since the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich and for them "evidence" was required;
• The third book was intended for the bulk of the urban nobility, numbering "in the middle and smaller articles" of ten . The decree did not say anything about the evidence for such names;
• The fourth book, the genealogy book was intended for births, representatives of which "from the lower ranks for the services of their fathers or for their own are written in Moscow ranks ." The decree also did not say anything about “evidence” ^[3] .

In the spring of 1682, in connection with the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich , pedigrees were suspended and only at the turn of 1685-1666 they were resumed. The actions of the clerks basically boiled down to receiving murals and documents, copying them, distributing them inside books, and resolving contentious issues. In the summer of 1688, clerical work completed the replenishment of the Sovereign genealogy, that is, the creation of the Velvet Book and the compilation of an additional genealogy book (second part of the BC), which included genealogies of the most notable families that did not appear in the first book. At the end of this work, by the fall of 1688, the activities of the PRD were suspended, and its individual functions were transferred to the Rank Order. In total, about 630 pedigree murals from about 560 serving families were submitted to the PDD and the Bit Order ^[4] .

As for the second genealogy of the book, back in 1741 in the Heroldmeister office drew attention to the mention of its compilation. A corresponding request and a copy of the introduction of the Velvet Book indicating the clerical litters in the original were sent to the Chancellery of Moscow Heraldic Affairs. In response to a request, copies of two report statements of June 1687 were sent from the heraldry. Regarding the second book in the report, it was reported that "the discharge cases for the analysis ... there are no other special genealogy books and decrees ...". Nevertheless, to find the second genealogy book and other documents in the unassembled cases of the Rank, a clerk was specially sent from the Heraldry Office to Moscow. However, the book and documents of interest to the office were never found ^{[5] [6]} .

Despite numerous additions, not all the famous and oldest Russian families were included in the Velvet Book. When comparing the list of filed genealogies with the "Alphabetical Index of Surnames and Persons mentioned in the Boyar Books", it turns out that almost all the genealogies were submitted by representatives of the capital's nobility. At the same time, the number of surnames that submitted the paintings does not fully reflect the composition of the metropolitan nobility of the 80s of the 17th century. More than 350 families, whose representatives served at the court during the activities of the House of Genealogy , did not submit their genealogies ^[4] .

In 1689-1707, about 15 cases were conducted in the Bit Order, related to the inclusion of separate documents in the previously submitted paintings, the permission for some families to write in double family names, the continuation of a number of controversial cases for inclusion in the BC ^[6] .

In February 1719, the Velvet Book was sent to St. Petersburg: ".... by decree of the great sovereign, the genealogy of the 190th (1682) and the boyar book of the 200s was taken to St. Petersburg in the office of the Governing Senate ... ” ^[7] .

In 1787, the Velvet Book was published by N. I. Novikov under the title “The Genealogy Book of Princes and Nobles of Russian and Leaving” and is a valuable document for genealogical research. At the same time, the Velvet book printed by Novikov, as the publisher announced on the title page, was reproduced not according to the original, but according to “most authentic lists, of which some were written in old and others in new letters, of which deserves the likelihood that the real state adviser F. had been informed to him from Mr. I. Miller ” ^[8] .

• List of births included in the Velvet Book

• The Velvet Book // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• P.V. Dolgorukov . Russian genealogy book . - SPb. : Printing house of the III Branch of Owls, E. I. V. Chancellery, 1855. - T. 2. - P. 306-315. - 327 s.

• Velvet book. The genealogy book of princes and nobles of Russia and those who left (neopr.) . Website Genealogia.ru. Date of treatment September 7, 2012. Archived November 6, 2010.
• Velvet book (unopened) . Runivers. Date of treatment January 19, 2012. Archived February 4, 2012.
• Velvet book (unopened) . Free virtual electronic library. Date of treatment March 1, 2012. Archived May 12, 2012.