The Velvet Book () was an official register of

genealogies Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

of Russia's most noble families (

Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...

). The book is bound in red

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

, hence the name. It was compiled during the regency of Sophia (1682–1687) after Tsar

Fyodor III of Russia Feodor or Fyodor III Alekseyevich (; 9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was Tsar of all Russia from 1676 until his death in 1682. Despite poor health from childhood, he managed to pass reforms on improving meritocracy within the civil and military stat ...

abolished the old system of ranks (''

mestnichestvo In History of Russia, Russian history, ''mestnichestvo'' (, ; from wikt:место#Russian, ме́сто, a position) was a feudal hierarchical system in Russia from the 15th to 17th centuries. ''Mestnichestvo'' was a complicated system of se ...

'') and all the ancient pedigree books had been burnt to prevent contention between the feuding aristocratic clans. The Velvet Book includes the ancient genealogical register from 1555 ('' Gosudarev Rodoslovets'') featuring the family trees of

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

and Gediminid princely houses. An important addendum contains a set of genealogies prepared by the non-princely noble families on the basis of their family records. As it was fashionable to trace one's blood line back to a foreign immigrant, all sorts of fantasy genealogies abound. The Velvet Book first appeared in print in 1787: Nikolai Novikov prepared the first edition at the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

Press. The book has also appeared in a
online version

References

{{Authority control 1687 in Russia 1687 non-fiction books 1787 non-fiction books Genealogy publications Rurikids Gediminids

See also

References