Biritch (birich, biryuch russian: бирич, бирюч) in

Ancient Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

was a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

, an announcer of the will of a '' knyaz'', sometimes kniaz's deputy in police or diplomatic affairs, or tax collector. A birich travelled to settlements, played

bugle The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...

or horn in the center of a

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

or yard to gather people and read the announcement. The word is thought to be derived from a Turkic word for "bugler", "hornist" (in modern Turkish: ''borucu'', ''borazancı''). Other hypotheses try to base the meanings on interpretations of the root ''bir-'', meaning "to take" in Slavic languages, deriving the meaning "tax collector". Birich is mentioned in East Slavic manuscripts since the 10th century and until the end of the 17th century.Richard L. Frey, Alan F. Truscott, Amalya Kearse ''The official encyclopedia of bridge'' pg. 178 Crown (1988) The Laurentian Codex mentions under the year of 992 that knyaz Vladimir of Kiev, when looking for a volunteer to fight a

Pecheneg The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პაჭ ...

'' baghatur'' have sent a ''birich'' in regiments. Later

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

s of Muscovy announced various ''

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader ( patriarch) that had the force of law. " Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concep ...

s'' via biriches. Heads of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

also used biriches to announce their decrees. A birich was supposed to make an announcement in market place, not once but many times, sometimes during several months. Later other administrators (''

namestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

s'', '' voyevodas'', etc.) had biriches in their staff, as mentioned in

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

s. The word "biritch" is the name of a 19th-century

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ga ...

. It is said to have originated in Russia, but satisfactory evidence of this has not been discovered. It is considered to be a precursor of

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

References

{{efron Medieval occupations Society of Kievan Rus' 19th-century card games

See also

References