latviski
Moscovy
MOSCOVY, a large Country of Europe, named also White-Russia, or Great Russia, is part of the Ancient Sarmatia; named Russia from the Ancient Roxolaus, a People’s Name; White-Russia, because of the Snow that covers the Country almost eight Months in the Year; and Great-Russia, because of its large Extent, it being the largest Country in Europe. Moscovy is properly the Name of a Province only, the Chief Town whereof is Moscow. But as l’ Isle de France gives its Name to the whole Kingdom; so by Moscovy they commonly understand all that vast Country which obeys the Great Duke or Czar.
The Situation, Limits, and Division of Moscovy.
It has the Frozen Sea, or Northern Ocean, on the North; the Rivers Oby and Tanais on the East, which parts it from Great Tartary; the Littie-Tanais, the Rivers Desna and Sola, with the Lesser-Tartary, on the South; the Borysthenes, Narva, Poland, Sweden, and Norway, on the West. Its length from Kola to Astracan is above 600 League; and its breadth from W. to E. from Livonia to Siberia, is of the same Extent. It is commonly divided into two principal parts, viz. the Southern, towards the Volga; and the Northern, towards the Dwina. Others divide it more naturally into four parts, viz. into Peculiar or Western Moscovy, Eastern Moscovy, Moscovian Tartary, and Moscovian Lapland. All this Country may contain about forty Provinces, some whereof have the Title of Kingdoms, and others the Tide of Dukedoms, whole Names are commonly taken from the chief Towns. We must observe also, That many of those Dominions are in Asia which the Moscovites have conquered or made tributary in Tartary. These are the Provinces, viz. Astracan, a Kingdom; Bicla Ozera, a Dukedom; Bielki a Dukedom; Bulgar, Cargapol, Casau , Nagaiski and Bulgal, all Kingdoms; Condora, Czeremisses, Logowoi, and Nagornoi, Dwina, Jeroslaw, Juhorsky, Lapland, or Leporie, Loppie, Lucomoria, the Morduates, Moscovy, Novogorod or Nifi Novogrod, and Novogrod-weliki, Obdora, Permski, Petzora, Pleskou, Pole, Rschou, Rezan, Rostou, the Samojedes, Siberia, Susdal, the Tingoeses, Tuver, Viatka, Ukrain, Wolodimer, Wologda, Worotin, Oustinga, Sewicra, Smolensky, with divers people, viz. the Samojedes, the Tingoëses, Scibanski, Giustiuski, Calami, Huguitski, Voguluci, and others already named. The Chief Towns are Archangel, Moscow, and the others which give those Provinces their Names.
The Qualities of the Country.
Moscovy in general is a Marshy Country, full of Forests, Pools, Lakes and Rivers. Some Lakes are fifty or fifty five Leagues long; Ladoga or Onega, near Finland, are the biggest in Europe, &c. The biggest Rivers arc the Volga, the Borysthenes, Tanaïs or Don, Dwina, Jag, Moscha, Occo, &c. The Winter is long and extraordinary cold, chiefly in the Eastern and Northern parts. In that Season they travel on very convenient Sledges. The Country is not well inhabited because of the Fens and vast Forests, chiefly on the North part, where the little quantity of Corn sowed never comes to perfect maturity. But it is not so towards Poland, where it is very hot in Summer. They sow only Rie before Winter, and the other Corn in May, tho’ their Harvest be in July and August. There is also plenty of Fruit, Melons, &c. as also of Honey, Fowl and Fish, &c. The Country adjoining to Little Tartary is almost Desert because of those Peoples Incursions, who take as many Slaves as they can, to sell them at Crim, from whence they are sent to Constantinople. And because fine Women are found amongst those Slaves, Merchants are not wanting to buy them. The Care taken to fell the Woods, and a Ditch made 100 Leagues long, cannot hinder those frequent Incursions. They so abused the Russians in the proceeding Centuries, that, besides the Tribute, the Duke of Moscovy was forced to alight before the Tartarian Embassador, to offer him a Dish of Milk; and which is more wonderfull, to lick up what was spilt by chance on his Horse’s Hair; and to be bare-headed whilst the Tartarian was sitting, as is affirmed by some. Olearius and other Authors speak of a Plant that is found near Samara, Astracan and Casan, like a Cucumber, in shape of a Lamb; and they affirm that the Grass withers in every place where These extraordinary Plants reach, and that when they are ripe, the Stump groweth dry, and the Fruit is covered with a certain hairy Skin, which being prepared, makes a good Fur-lining; Wolves devour it because it is like a Lamb; therefore the Moscovites name it Bonnaret, that is, Little Lamb; and others, Zoophyte, or Animal Plant or Plant Animal. The Country affords also Salt, Brimstone, Pitch and Tar, Hemp, Flax, Iron, Steel, and Copper-mines; also a kind of Fish named Morse, which has very long Teeth fit for Handles of Knives and Scimitars, much valued in Persia. Near Saint Michael the Archangel, there is a certain Rock called Slude, wherewith they make some Plates more transparent than Glass, that can neither be broken nor burn’d. Two or three different sorts of Beer and Mead are the ordinary Drink among them. Their Buildings are almost all of Timber, Stones being scarce, which makes them so subject to be burn’d. It is true their loss is not considerable, for their Houses are very ordinarily furnished. Their woollen Cloth is very course. Russian Leather is much valued in Europe. Fur-linings are so common there, that they have enough of them for themselves and their Neighbours; and their Hunters are so skilfull, that they can wound the Beasts Noses only, to have the Skins whole.
An Animal Plant, Plant Animal, Zoophyte↗ ? The reference here is to the legendary Vegetable Lamb of Tartary↗. This concept may have come from Europeans first coming in contact with cotton plants. Contemporary with the dictionary came the hypothesis and generally accepted view this was an actual plant, the rhizome↗ of the fern Cibotium barometz↗, which, suitably trimmed could resemble a lamb.
The Moscovites Manners and Customs.
The Moscovites boast of being descended from the Graecians; they are generally very strong; and their Boyars or Nobles love to appear with beg Bellies, as if their Nobility lay in their Guts. They have no other Surname but their Fathers proper Name, as Alexis Alexiewitz, that is, Alexis Son of Alexis. They delight also in long beards, though they wear veary short Hair. Their Gowns, with narrow Sleeves, reach down to their Heels. Their Collars and Shirts are commonly embroidered with Silk of different Colours. They wear only Caps and Buskins of read Leather instead of Shooes. Women are almost dressed like Men, only their Gowns are wider, their Caps very fantastical, and the Sleeves of their Shirts four or five ells long and much plaited. The Moscovites are mistrustfull, treacherous, and so naturally cruel, that even the Executioner’s Office is no discredit amongst them. They are cunning in Trading, and deceive without Punishment, it being reputed Industry. They are so well us’d to Cold and Heat, that they indure both successively without hurt. In their Collations they give Ginger bread, Brandy and Mead. They are naturally lazy, and Drunkenness is so common there, that they generally kill themselves with it. Formerly they took Tabaco excessively; but in 1634 it was severely prohibited, and the Transgressors were to be whipped, or to have their Nostrils slit, if they should but take any Snuff; not only because Families were ruined by such an Expence, but because it happened often that a Drunken Man falling asleep with his Pipe lighted, fired the House and part of the Town. Nevertheless, they smoak it still privately, and use a Bull’s Horn, with a Hole in the middle, and a little wooden Box to put the Tabaco in, having some Water in the Horn to sweeten the Smoak. There is so little Complacency and Civility among them, that ’tis no wonder if they be unkind to Foreigners. They are naturally Proud, despise all Men, and think none comparable to themselves. They live very frugally, and lie all on the Ground or on Benches, the Nobility and Gentry excepted. They are much addicted to Stealing, though severely punished for it. Their Sports are Wrestling, Fighting at Fistycuffs, or with Sticks, and Sliding on the Ice. Their Musick is composed of Hoboys and Bag-pipes, and their Dances are so ridiculous and brutish, that dancing Bears excell them.
The Duke’s Succession. The Government and Laws of Moscovy.
We are so little acquainted with the Affairs and the ancient History of Moscovy, that it is difficult to speak certainly of them. Nevertheless thus much we may collect; ’Tis said that Wolodimier, Son of Steslaus, was converted to the Catholick Faith in 988; and that he is properly the first Duke or Prince of that Country. The Graecians converted him, and he took the Name of Basilius when he was baptized. Joreslaus succeeded him; they reckon afterwards, Wzevold, Wolodimier II. Wzevold II. and 7 others whose Names are unknown. George I. Demetrius I. George II. Iroslaus, George the Second’s Brother, Alexander, Daniel, John named Kaleta, that is, The Purse, because he used to take a Purse with him for Alms; Simeon, John II. Demetrius II. in 1400; George III. Basilius III. John Basilides, surnamed The Great, succeeded, and shook off the Tartars Yoke, who abused the Dukes of Moscovy. This Prince married Sophia Palaeololus, Daughter of Thomas, who was Brother to Constantine XIII. the last Emperor of Constantinople. He left Basilius IV. who died in 1533. John Basilides II. who was born in 1528, and died in 1584. Theodorus succeeded him, and died in 1498. Borius Hodrinus, or Boritz his Brother-in-law, took the Ducal-crown, and was charged with the Death of Theodorus, and of one of his Brethren named Demetrius. Others say, That the true Demetrius was alive, and appeared in Poland, where he married the Daughter of the Palatine of Sandomiria, who restored him. But because he favoured Foreigners too much, he was called an Impostor, and put to death in 1606. Basil John, named Suiski, was put in his place, and his tyrannical behaviour made him odious. The Polanders made him Prisoner, with two of his Brethren in 1610, under Ladislaus, Prince of Poland, whom the Mufcovites elected Duke. He took Moscow in 1611; but was soon turned out; and the Muscovites, naturally Enemies to all forts of Strangers, and desirous to have a Duke of their own Nation, elected Michael called Federowitz, Son of Fedornikitits; Patriarch of Moscow, and nearly related to the Tyrant Basilius. Michael died in 1645. and left by Eudoxa, Lucanowena, Alexis, Michael or Michalouk, Duke of Moscovoy, who died in 1676, and left among other Children, Alexis IT. Duke of Moscovy. The Czar alone gives laws to his People, names the Governours of Provinces, sends and receives Embassadors, and fixes the Taxes as he pleases. His Title, which seems to be derived from Caesar, signifies King or Emperor. He is also called Grand Signior, and Velika-Kucs, that is, Great Duke. His Coat of Arms is an Eagle with two Heads bearing three Crowns. His Council of State is commonly held in the night. There are six Jurisdictions to decide all Affairs; The first is for Strangers; The second, for War-affairs; The third, for the Treasury-affairs; The fourth, to receive divers Accounts; The fifth, for Civil-law-suits; And the sixth, for Criminals. The Prince’s Revenue is very considerable; for, besides his Demeasnes1 and the Taxes, he has an incredible Revenue from the Taverns he keeps; and, besides that, he takes five per cent, of all Merchandizes. He has other Revenues for himself in particular, and takes possession of all the Estates and Goods of all those that die without Issue. And if there be any rich persons incapable of serving him in the War, or elsewhere, he takes part of their possessions for himself, or for some Officer. And the Czar's Power is so great, that he is Master of the Lives and Fortunes of all his Subjects, who acknowledge themselves his Slaves, and whom he never calls but by diminutive Names, as Jonny or Jenny, for John and James, &c. This Power is maintained by three Rules; The first, That it is Death to all Moscovites to travel without the Prince’s leave. The second, That to prevent all Changes which might happen by foreign Alliances, the Czars marry none but their Subjects. The third is, Ignorance; The Moscovites being contented if they can but read and write, Justice is quickly administred, each Party pleading for himself. When a Debtor is unwilling to pay or to give Security, he becomes Slave to the Czar, or to some other, if the Prince pleases. Criminals are condemned to suffer the Strappado; or if the Crime deserves Death, they are hanged or beheaded. Their Trade is considerable, and Moscovy in general furnishes foreign Countries with Honey, Wax, Tallow, Leather, Flax, Hemp, Furs, Feathers for Beds, Pitch and Tar, Salt, Sea-calf’s-oil, Cavayar, &c. As for their Forces, they would be formidable to their Neighbours, if their Officers had Inclination, Conduct or Integrity which they often have not. For the Czar can in a little time Raise 100 or 200 thousand Men. He keeps commonly 15000 Horse, and 120000 Foot for his Guard and Garrisons, and 65000 Men besides, under about an hundred Officers, to view the Frontiers every year towards Tartary, and prevent Incursions. When the Czars want a great Army, the Nobles are forced to find Soldiers, and to keep them, proportionably to their Servants. Their Arms are the Sword, the Axe, the Bow, and the Musket; they are hardy, and can live upon a small matter; nevertheless more proper to maintain a Siege than to fight a Battle; for they have been always beaten in the Field by the Polanders and Suedes; and have had good Success when besieged. In general their Infantry is much more valued than their Cavalry. Their Forts are commonly of Wood and Earth. It is a very hard matter to know the Czar’s Titles, and the Pretence of War he made against the Polanders in 1645, was, That they had not given him the Titles due to him. One of his Predecessors caused an Italian Embassador’s Hat to be nailed to his Head, because he kept it on before him.
Their Language and Knowledge.
Their Language is very like that of the Sclavonian and Polish; and the Sclavonian is the Mother Tongue from which the Moscovite was taken. They have borrowed their Letters of the Graecians, though they have much altered them, having so many double Letters, that their Alphabet contains forty. They write on Rolls of Paper cut like Fillets and pasted together twenty five or thirty ells long. They are extraordinary ignorant; having no Colleges nor Universities, and that out of Policy. Their Priests never preach, only read some Homilies in the Church. Because they don’t willingly admit Strangers, all Languages but their own are unknown to them. Their Children learn to read and write, which is enough to make a Doctor with them. They only acknowledge the artificial day, that is, from the Rising of the Sun to his Setting. Their Year begins the first of September, receiving no other Epocha, but that of the Creation, which they believe was in Autumn. Their Leagues are certain Spaces named Vorest.
Their Religion.
The Moscovites were converted to Christianity by the Graecians. All their Images are only in Paint; and St. Nicholas is the Protector of the Nation. Of all the Holy-days in the year, properly they keep none but the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. But whatever is said of their Conversion to the Faith; in seems plain that Christianity was established there in the very first Centuries, since in the Subscriptions of the Council of Antioch held under Jovian, we find the Name of one Antipater Bishop of the Rossians or Russians. Nevertheless Christianity afterwards was certainly abolished there; for it is believed that it was restored in the Xth. or XIth. Century, as Baronius proves it. It is thought that Wolodimier was converted in 988, and that he took the Name of Basilius, whom Joreslaus succeeded. Let that be as it will, they have a particular Metropolitan Patriarch residing at Moscow, not depending upon the Patriarch of Constantinople. There are three Archbishops, viz. at Novogrod, Susdal, and Rostrow; and divers Bishops. Anthony Sielanua, Metropolitan of all Russia, Patriarch of Moscow, was deposed in a General Synod, for having contributed to the Disorders in Moscovy about Religion. The Patriarch is elected by the Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, and all the Clergy, and confirmed afterwards by the Duke; but if the Election doth not please him, another is chosen. They observe all the Ceremonies of the Graecians; receive the Communion in both kinds, and give it to Children of 7 years old, because they begin then to fin, as they say. They go to Confession, and keep divers Fasts and Lents very strictly. They pray for the Dead; make Processions, Pilgrimages, the Sign of the Cross, &c. but acknowledge not the Pope’s Authority. They have divers Monasteries of Monks and Nuns, whose Lives are very strict.
Authors that speak of Moscovy.
Those that desire to know more Particulars may read Paulus Jovius’s Treatise concerning an Embassy from the great Duke Basilius to Pope Clement VIIth. Sigismond, Baron of Herberstein’s Relation, Possevin de rebus Moscoviticis. Another with the same Title printed at Franckfort in 1600. Rainer Heidenstein concerning Stephen, King of Poland's War against the Moscovites. The Works of eight Authors collected in one Volume De Russorum Religione, printed in 1582 at Spire. Petr. Petraeus de Erlesunda's Chronicum Moscoviticum, Cluervius, Ortelius, Mercator, Baronius, Spondanus, Raynoldi, John le Fevre’s Relation of Moscovy, Crantzius, Michovius de rebus Sarmatick, Cromer, and the Historians of Poland and Sweden, Lazicius, Bottero’s Relations. Edwin Sandys. Brerewood. Hornbeek. Hottinger. A Relation of the Earl of Carlisle's Embassy in Moscovy, &c.
| 1 | Demesnes, lands attached to manors. |
↗