Will (dukhovnaya gramota) of Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich and line of succession for Grand Prince titlein Northeastern Rus of 15th century

There are three viewpoints in contemporary Russian historical studies on succession to the throne and, namely, successionfor the Grand Prince title in the Northeastern Rus in the 14th-15th centuries, as well as on the role of the second will (dukhovnayagramota) of Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich in this sphere. According to the first point of view (S.M. Solovyev, A.E. Presnyakov,A.A. Zimin), there was no precise data when succession within one family based on seniority was substituted by lineal succession. Weassume that it mostly refers to the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries. According to the second point of view(L.V. Cherepnin), this change can be dated back to the end of the 14th century and was caused by the second will of Grand Duke DmitryIvanovich. It can be assumed that the will contains implicit information about succession to the appanage (udel) of the testator's eldestson. Moreover, it is accepted that the senior appanage is connected with the Grand Principality of Vladimir. Those who represent thethird point of view believe there were no succession rules in the Moscow Principality up to the end of the 14th century, after which twosuccession rules co-existed (S.A. Melnikov). Such a variety of theories has necessitated our reference to the documentary sourcesprovided that two of the three viewpoints are not based on documents. The analysis of wills (dukhovnaya gramota) and treaties(dogovornaya gramota) showed that the succession for the Grand Prince title within one family based on seniority existed at least untilthe first third of the 16th century inclusive. Practically all the grand princes' wills and the treaties between princes preserved emphasizethe exceptional position of the second brother both at the end of the 14th and in the middle of the 15th centuries and, indirectly, at thebeginning of the 16th century. Moreover, the treaty of Ivan III with Mikhail Andreyevich Belozersky (1477) shows a relatively highposition of the third of brothers in the Moscow Prince's Family. The further vigorous activity of the third son - Andrey Bolshoy ofUglich - proves that his status documented in the treaty was not a mere formality. Hence, the seniority succession was still observed bythe date when the above-mentioned treaty was signed. The first violation of the seniority succession principle was recorded in the will ofIvan III in 1504. However, the following treaties of his senior successor, Grand Prince Vasily III with the second in seniority PrinceYury Dmitrievich, according to which the latter was supposed to resign from the Grand Prince title in behalf of the possible children ofhis elder brother, show that the new succession rules were not formed yet by that time.

Keywords

Authors

References