Mikhalko Stepanich

Who he is

Name

Mikhalko (Mikhail) Stepanich

Title

boyar, former posadnik

Since

Posadnik before 1189, when the office was given to Miroshka; posadnik again 1203-1205

Born

not pinned

Family

Son Tverdislav Mikhalkovich (posadnik from 1207, several times to 1220). The family's church is St Michael on the Prussian street, which 'Mikhal Stepanich' built in the 1170s; Mikhalko took the habit as the monk Mitrofan at the Arkazh monastery and died there on 18 May 1206, and Tverdislav built a church over its gates.

Confidence

medium

Novgorod chronicle under 6697, 6707, 6711, 6713, 6714. The placing of the family on the Prussian street follows V. L. Yanin (not re-checked in this run).

Overlord

None: a Novgorod boyar house.

What it holds

• the family's courts and churches in Novgorod (St Michael on the Prussian street)
• ties to the Arkazh monastery
• estates in the Novgorod land (not recorded)

How it was acquired

Inherited standing.

Allies and rivals

Rivals of the Miroshkinichi; in 1199 cooperating with them.

How things stand that morning

In the first rank of boyars; out of office.

Wealth

Estates and trade; no figures.

Military

Their own retinue in the town host.

Threats

• The Miroshkinichi's hold on office.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1203 (after this year)Mikhalko becomes posadnik on Miroshka's death; removed in 1205.Depends on: Miroshka's death. Stopped by: Miroshka living on.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Office-holding and churches are in the chronicle; estates are not.

On the map: Not drawn: the house's estates cannot be located for 1200.

Primary sources for Novgorod

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
• The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
• The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
• The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online