Rearch On Ancient Rus’ Druzhina System

Druzhina system was involved in military, political and economic fields in Rus’ history, which had a far-reaching influence on the foundation and management of Rus as well as its feudalization. Militarily, druzhina not only made remarkable contributions to forming and expanding the state, but also resisted with foreign invasion positively, becoming defenders with national security. Politically, Boyar Duma, the supreme authority in Rus’ feudal society, followed the custom of Druzhina’ Conference attended by the prince and the druzhina. Economically, the enfeoffment system of druzhina-boyar came directly from the reward system between the prince and the druzhina.This essay aims at studying the role the ancient Rus’druzhina system played in the foundation of the country, and further more throws a light on the relationship between the druzhina system and the feudalization of Rus. The main structure of this paper is divided into three parts:the preface, the text and the conclusion.The first part, the preface, elaborates the significance and value of the study mentioned in this essay and provides a review of overseas and domestic research status on Rus’druzhina system.The second part, main text, is further divided into four sections:The first section mainly studys the formation of Rus’ druzhina system.This section defines the word "druzhina" and analyzes its origin initially, then expounds its social background from which it grew out. In the late stage of the Eastern Slavs tribal society, the prince had already organized their own druzhina, which went into the special Rus’ druzhina after the foundation of Rus together with druzhina organized by the Varangian prince. Therefore based on the social features, this section analyzes the conditions for the formation of the druzhina from four aspects, in other words, the economy, the tribal wars, the politics and the religious culture. And further more, this section makes an analysis on the relation between the druzhina and the prince, which was built materially on the reward system and spiritually on the loyalty of the druzhina, both are indispensible. The last one to be discussed in this section is the hierarchy among the druzhina. In this system, druzhina was classed as superior and inferior druzhina, the former are the main source of boyar later, the latter are the military servants of the prince.The second section focuses on the role the druzhina system played in the process of foundation of Rus. In ancient Rus, druzhina was simply indistinguishable from the businessmen, and played a double-jointed role as soldier-businessmen during the formation of Rus. Simultaneously, they also had critical implications on the baptism of Rus.The last two sections emphatically analyze the close link between the druzhina system and the feudalization of Rus. The three major characteristics of Rus’ feudalization are the enfeoffment, the weakening of kingship and the division of land, thus in accordance with these features, the final two sections are divided into three components. First of all, this section analyzes the connection between the druzhina system and the Rus’ enfeoffment system, focusing on both the formation and features of the feudal vassal relationship between the druzhina and the prince, coming to the conclusion that the loyalty of the druzhina-boyar to the prince depended on the material basis of the enfeoffment system. Simultaneously, the formation and development of the druzhina’s enfeoffment system, which provided a strong economic foundation to the druzhina-boyar and had a profound effect on the feudalization of Rus. In the next place, this section discusses the weakening of royalty. Politically, the druzhina-boyar shared power with the prince in the management of country through Boyar Duma, which greatly weakened the power of the prince inevitably. In the meanwhile, the druzhina-boyar participated in local management and city’s popular assembly, which strengthened their control on cities. As a result, they became the political factors of the separation of the country. Finally, this section comes to the impact of the druzhina system on the fragmentation of Rus. With their solid economic foundation, powerful political status as well as military force, druzhina-boyars had the ability to intervene in the feudal separatist wars among the princes. In consequence, they gradually developed into separatist forces in Rus which can not be ignored. Therefore, the separation of Rus, which can somehow be considered as the result of the powerful druzhina and the weak prince. On the basis of the studies stated above, it can be concluded that the druzhina system really produced a significant impact on the feudalization of Rus.The last part serves as a conclusion of the effect the druzhina had on Rus’ history.