Izgoi

Izgoi

 

(from old Russian goit’, to live), persons in 11th- and 12th-century Rus’ who were displaced by circumstances from their normal social position. The earliest references to these people are found in the Russkaia Pravda (earliest Russian law code), in the law code of Prince Rostislav Mstislavich of Smolensk (1150), and in the ecclesiastical statutes of Prince Vsevolod Gavriil Mstislavich. Izgoi lived on the lands of both lay and ecclesiastical feudal lords. Most of them appear to have been either peasants whose connection with the rural commune had been broken during feudalization or slaves who had bought or been granted their freedom. With the development of feudalism this group gradually became part of the feudally dependent population as a whole.

REFERENCES

Grekov, B.D. Krest’iane na Rusis drevneishikh vremen do XVII v. , 2nd ed. , book 1. Moscow, 1952.
Smirnov, I.I. “K voprosu ob izgoiakh.” In the collection Akademiku B.D. Grekovu ko dniu 70-letiia: Sb. st. Moscow, 1952. Pages 105–11.