It seems to us that Rostislav’s charter itself is justified for such a definition, if we pay attention to the order of the cities mentioned in it. It is natural to assume that its scribe was guided by some beginning in listing the cities. It is unlikely that he named the cities that came to his mind, without any order. Most of all, the order of listing depended on the position of the cities along the way the prince collected tribute. The scribe remembered from which city the prince usually went to collect tribute, had the corresponding records at hand and named the cities according to them, in order.
Indeed. If we pay attention to a number of the named cities, the position of which we can undoubtedly indicate on a modern map, we will see that the cities were mentioned in the literature in a certain sequence.
According to its composition, the charter is divided into three parts (actually three charters): the first lists the cities and the amount of tribute due from them to the bishop, the second (estate. “This is a bad and sinful one,” etc.) approves the charter by the prince, and the third (estate. “And this city,” etc. until the end) lists the cities from which it is given to the bishop city and honor°?). In the last part, 11 most important cities are named in no particular order.
In the first part, 37 localities are named, with the exception of villages given to the bishop under direct control (Drosensky, Yasensky, etc.). These are the m$fetnosti compilers of the charter,
52) (m. Dictionary of historical geogr. 5) With this division, the project was published. Vladizhirekim-Budanov.
It seems to us that they were named in a certain order. Here are the cities listed:
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
3. Toroichi. 21. Zarub.
4. Zhizhi. 22. Jenny the Great.
5. Waspli. 23. Patsin.
6. Hotshin. | 24. Malthouses.
7. Zhabachev. | 25. Puttin. (Voto.ovichi). 26. Bynitsi.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
9. Deshiyani. 28. Question.
10. Vetskaya. 29. Prunpoi.
11. Bylev. 30. They greak.
12. Bortnitsa. 31. Luchin.
13. Showcase. 32. Clue.
14. Zhidchichi. 33. Search.
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16. Miryatichi. 35. Verzhavsk.
17. Dobryatino. 36. Lodeinitsy.
18. Dobrochkovo. 37. Toropets.
Even the most superficial glance at the order of counting cities forces us to assume some order in their listing: the compiler, starting with the Verzhavsky churchyards and Toropets, ends with the town of Verzhavsky (near which the churchyards were located) and Toropets. Not only that. From the following survey of cities we will see that 15 places of literacy are determined quite accurately. Namely: VerzhavlFni Velike, Toropchi, Zhizhtsi, Vaspli, Vetskaya, Basfi, Zarub, Patsin, Kopys, Prupoi, Krechyut, MLuchin, Obolv, Iskan, Suzhdal Zal'ssyu; If we go through these cities on a map, we will see that the first three make up the northern group, Kaspli, Vetskaya and Basfi - the western group, Zarub, Patsyn, Prupoi, Krechyut and Luchin - the southern group, Iskan and Suzhdal Zalesyu - the eastern group. They all follow each other in order on the map. Only Kopys does not fit into the general order: according to his position in the gramal, he cost in the southern group, while its geographical position gives it a place in the western. This fact can be explained by chance, but the remaining 14 locations, of course, are not in the correct order by chance.
Defining further the cities of charter, one can most likely point to the following ones: Khotshin, Zhabacheva, Vitritsy, Zhidchichi, Dobryatina (and maybe Dobryatina) and again these cities follow the same order.
Thus, the indicated property of the order of counting cities in charters gives us the opportunity to indicate with greater certainty the position of one or another city; Likewise, if for the same city of charter it is possible to find several consonant names, then preference should be given to the one that corresponds to the place in the list: the locality position, if not completely, then at least approximately determined. For several names it is impossible to find consonant ones at all; in this case we can at least approximately indicate their position 5“).