Vyshgorod

Who holds it

Name

Rurik Rostislavich

Title

Prince of Kiev

Since

1194

Confidence

high

Lord in 1200

Rurik's; held through his governor as far as the sources show (his son Rostislav has it only from 1205)

How things stand that morning

Rurik's.

Charter

No charter: Rus' towns of this age had no written privileges. The prince's governor or steward judges and collects; the townsmen meet in assembly (veche) at need.

Council

No separate assembly recorded; the prince's governor.

Communities

Rus'.

Fairs and markets

The pilgrim feasts of Boris and Gleb (2 May, the translation of the relics; 24 July) draw crowds.

Militia

Its townsmen and the prince's garrison.

Walls and castle

Earth and timber detinets on the bluff; the stone church of Boris and Gleb.

Trade and crafts

Pottery, river traffic on the Dnieper, pilgrimage.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The shrine and the fortress are well attested; the governor in 1200 is not.

Primary sources for Kiev (Rurik Rostislavich)

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 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 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 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