Kholop

A ''kholop'' ( Ukrainian and Russian холо́п; , ) was a type of feudal serf (dependent population) in Kievan Rus' in the 9th and early 12th centuries. Their legal status in Russia was essentially the same as slaves. They were sold as any other property of their master until the emancipation reform of 1861. The term ''kholop'' was excluded from official use in 1724, but it remains in vernacular use as a type of insult.

Etymology

The word холо́п was first mentioned in a chronicle for the year 986 CE. The word is cognate with Slavic words translated as "man" or "boy" ( (), , () "kid"). () is a synonym for "man" in Slovak ( "boy" thus being the diminutive). Such transitions between the meanings "young person" and "servant" (in both directions) are commonplace, as evident from the English use of "boy" in the sense of "domestic servant".

History

In Kievan Rus

The '' Russkaya Pravda,'' a legal code of the late Kievan Rus', details the status and types of ''kholops'' of the time.

In the 11th–12th centuries, the term referred to different categories of dependent people and especially slaves. A ''kholop'''s master had unlimited power over his life, e.g., he could kill him, sell him, or transfer ownership of him to settle a debt. The master, however, was responsible for a ''kholop''s actions, such as insulting a freeman or stealing.

A person could become a ''kholop'' as a result of capture, selling oneself, being sold for debts, after having committed crimes, or through marriage to a ''kholop''. Until the late 15th century, the ''kholops'' represented a majority among the servants, who had been working lordly lands. Some ''kholops'', mainly house serfs, replenished the ranks of the princely servants (including those in the military) or engaged themselves in trades, farming, or administrative activities.

In the Tsardom of Moscow

Throughout the 16th century, the role of the ''kholops'' in the corvée economy had been diminishing due to the increasing involvement of peasant exploitation (''see Russian serfdom''). At the turn of the 16th century, the service class ''kholops'' (служилое холопство, ''sluzhiloye kholopstvo'') began to emerge and spread across the country. In the late 17th century, there were also ''kholops'' "implanted" to their land (посаженные на землю, ''posazhenniye na zemlyu''), who took care of their own household and had to pay chynsh (similar to quitrent). Those ''kholops'', who had been house serfs were subject to poll tax (per-soul tax, ''podushnaya podat'') in 1722–1724, and were thereafter treated as ordinary serfs (''krepostnyye'', "permanent peasants").

''Boevie kholopi'' (, "combat slaves"), also known as "military slaves" in literature, constituted an armed retinue and personal protection for large and medium-sized landowners in the 16th–18th centuries, and carried out military service together with noblemen, constituting a considerable part of the " Landed Army". They were equipped as mounted archers, usually wearing cheap quilted armor and caps. — Detailed descriptions of the military and civil clothing in Russia from 862–1855 .

"''Kabala'' people" was a variation of ''kholops'' in Muscovy of 15th–17th centuries. This category of unfree population came under the ''"kabala"'' (heavy debt bondage) condition following a monetary loan for percentage of which it had serve its creditor until completion of the debt payment. Legal status of the ''Kabala kholops'' was regulated by general ''kholops'' norms and laws Sudebnik of 1550, Sobornoye Ulozheniye of 1649. After the Ukaze of 1 February 1597, the principle of the ''kholop's'' servitude until the death of his / her creditor was enacted. Over time, all types of kholops were placed to the category of ''Kabala kholops''. Agreements on ''Kabala kholops'' were inscribed in "''Kabala'' books".

See also

* Chłopomania or Khlopomanstvo
* Kholop (film)

References

Sources

* {{GSEncyclopedia

Society of Kievan Rus'
Economy of the Russian Empire
Feudalism in Russia
Economy of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus' law
Russian farmers
Polish farmers