Sudebnik of 1550
The Sudebnik of 1550, written in Russian as Судебник 1550 года, was a legal code that set a price on a peasant's freedom to leave. Two fixed payments, and the landowner could not hold the peasant back. Ivan IV of Russia issued the code as a revision of an older law book, the Sudebnik of 1497, which his grandfather Ivan III had instituted. It is also known as the Sudebnik of Ivan IV. Behind that plain title sit several questions. Who lost power when the code took effect? Who gained a voice in the courtroom? And what exactly did a peasant have to pay to walk away?
The Zemsky Sobor, described as the first Russian parliament of feudal estates, is regarded as the body that produced the Sudebnik of 1550. That origin matters because of what the code did to the aristocracy. It liquidated the judicial privileges that aristocrats had held, so their special standing before the law came to an end. In their place, the code strengthened the state judicial bodies, which meant that justice now flowed through institutions of the state rather than through noble prerogative. The code did not stop at the top of society, however. It also reached down into town and village life, where it gave ordinary communities an official part to play.
Rural heads, jurymen, tselovalniki and dvorskie all appear in the code as elective representatives of local communities. The Sudebnik gave them an active role in legal proceedings, so a trial was no longer left entirely to officials. One rule limited the power to detain people. Suspects could be arrested only with the consent of the local community. A community also had its own representative in the courthouse, called a dyak, who took part in the judicial office-work. Town and rural communities received the right to self-management as well, including the right to distribute taxes among themselves. The same code that protected communities also addressed the question of where a peasant could live and work.
The Sudebnik confirmed the right of peasants to leave their feudal lords. This was no vague promise. The law defined the right precisely, saying that a peasant could depart from a landowner after paying two fixed fees. The first was a break-away fee called pozhiloye. The second was a transportation fee called povoz. Together, the pair turned a peasant's departure into a settled legal procedure with a known cost, one that the code of 1550 carried forward from the older tradition of Ivan III's law book.
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Common questions
What was the Sudebnik of 1550?
The Sudebnik of 1550 was a Russian legal code issued by Ivan IV of Russia. It expanded and revised the Sudebnik of 1497, which Ivan III had instituted.
Who created the Sudebnik of 1550?
Ivan IV of Russia created the Sudebnik of 1550, which is why it is also called the Sudebnik of Ivan IV. It is considered the result of the first Russian parliament of feudal estates, the Zemsky Sobor.
How did the Sudebnik of 1550 change the power of the aristocracy?
The Sudebnik of 1550 liquidated the judicial privileges of the aristocracy. It also strengthened the role of state judicial bodies.
What role did local communities have under the Sudebnik of 1550?
Elective representatives of local communities, such as rural heads, jurymen, tselovalniki and dvorskie, took active part in legal proceedings. Suspects could be arrested only with the consent of the local community.
Could peasants leave their landowners under the Sudebnik of 1550?
Yes, the Sudebnik of 1550 confirmed the right of peasants to leave their feudal lords. A peasant had to pay two fixed fees first, called pozhiloye and povoz.
What were pozhiloye and povoz in the Sudebnik of 1550?
Pozhiloye was the break-away fee and povoz was the transportation fee. A peasant paid both before leaving a landowner under the Sudebnik of 1550.