Polotsk veche

Who he is

Name

no officer or boyar is named for 1200

Title

the assembly of the Polotsk townsmen and their boyars

Since

the assembly is attested from 1132

Confidence

medium

ru.wikipedia (Полоцк: the revolt of 1132); the Hypatian Chronicle for 1151 and 1158-1159 and the Laurentian for 1186, as usually cited

Overlord

the prince of Polotsk, whom it can drive out or call in

What it holds

• the town's courts and assembly
• a voice in the choice and keeping of the prince
• the townsmen's host

How it was acquired

Custom, asserted against princes since 1132.

Allies and rivals

Its own interest in the river trade; it treats with outside powers in its own name (1186).

How things stand that morning

Accepts Vladimir; no rising recorded after 1186.

Wealth

The Daugava trade.

Military

The town host.

Threats

• the loss of the lower Daugava trade to the Germans

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Pattern known from the 12th-century chronicles; nothing specific for 1190-1200.

On the map: Not drawn: its ground is the town of Polotsk (Polotsk).

Primary sources for Polotsk

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 Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
• Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online