This letter dates c.1100-1120. The images come from https://gramoty.ru/birchbark/document/show/novgorod/109/

Translated from the Old Slavic by Jacob Bell. After edition in A.V. Arcixovskii and V.I. Borkovskii, eds., Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste, Vol. III (Moscow: Akademiia nauk SSSR, 1958), 38-41. This translation CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

A letter from Zhiznomir to Mikula. You bought a female slave in Pskov, and now the ruler’s wife has arrested me for it. But my companions vouched for me. So, send a letter to that man [you sold her to] and ask if he has the slave woman. As for me, I plan to buy horses and ride with one of the ruler’s men to the court. As for you—if you haven’t taken money [for the girl] yet, don’t take anything from him.

Discussion Questions

  1. What can this source tell us about slavery in medieval Novgorod?
  2. How can we use this letter to write a history of the slave trade in medieval Rus’?