From the cadastral books to GIS: Toropets, Belaya, Rzheva borders in 15th – 17th centuries

Geoinformation technologies have been used in domestic historical and geographical research for more than 20 years ^[26]. Especially productive was the use of GIS in working with the materials of the General Survey of the XVIII–XIX centuries, which are of great importance in the study of socio-economic history and historical geography of Russia not only in Modern times, but also in the late Middle Ages. The study of the materials of the General Survey showed its productivity, first of all, in reconstructions of the rural settlement system.

The main provisions of the localization methodology of settlements of the XV–XVII centuries. on the basis of these sources of the XVIII–XIX centuries were formulated by A.M. Andriyashev ^[4] and M.V. Vitov ^[9]. In this approach, the data of the General Surveying of the XVIII century are a kind of "key" to the localization of the data of the land descriptions of the XV–XVII centuries on a modern geographical basis. The introduction of geoinformation technologies in the 2000s made it possible to process large arrays of historical and geographical information from sources of the Late Middle Ages and early Modern times. In addition to speeding up the process of statistical processing of land descriptions, technologies have made it possible to create historical and geographical geoinformation projects equipped with a set of scaling functions, full-text data search, distance and area measurements. Linking the materials of the General Surveying in such projects made it possible to reflect the direct sources of geographical information for reconstructions of the historical landscape of the XV–XVII centuries. In this methodological field, the project of A.A. Frolov and N.V. Piotukh was carried out to localize more than 6 thousand villages of the oldest Russian scribe book of the Village Pyatina of the Novgorod land of the end of the XV century ^[31], and later joint projects of Tver State University and the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the historical geography of certain areas of the Upper Volga region: Bezhetsky Top ^[30], Tver District ^[8], Tver half of Bezhetsky Pyatina ^[7].

It seems productive to use geoinformation technologies in studying the dynamics of borders (primarily international ones) and territories that have been subjected to multiple repartitions. In the history of Russia, one of these territories is Toropetskaya Land. Toropetsky volosts were Toropetsky municipality as part of the XIV–XV centuries and Toropetsky county as part of the Russian state of the XVI–XVII centuries. L.A. Bassalygo and V.L. Yanin drew attention to the differences in the composition of Toropetsky volosts according to the charters of the second half of the XV century and the scribe book of the county of 1540 ^{[5, pp. 192-193]}. V.N. Temushev traced the chronology of military clashes on the Rzhev-Toropetsky border in the 1480s - 1490s and created a map of the Toropetsky district at the end of the XV century, on which he schematically reflected parts of the district, including those attached to the Principality of Belsky and Rzhevsky county ^{[22, map 5; 23]}. Historical and geographical studies of the areas of contact of the Moscow Principality, INCL. and Novgorod land belong to V.S. Borzakovsky ^[6], N.D. Kvashnin-Samarin ^[13], L.V. Alekseev ^[3], V.A. Kuchkin ^[14], A.A. Frolov ^{[25; 27; 28]}.

Continuous localization of the toponymy of scribal descriptions of the XVI–XVII centuries with the use of geoinformation technologies allows us to reflect the realities already known to historians on a modern digital cartographic basis, as well as to form a more detailed idea of the territory of the county, its transformation in the XV–XVII centuries. the Moscow-Lithuanian border, which in the XV century was formed by the eastern volosts of the Toropetsky district.

The main sources of research are scribal descriptions of the XVI–XVII centuries. The earliest is the scribe book of the Toropetsky district of 1540 ^{[16; 19; 24]}. The next in time is the description of the county of 1626-1629, covering the local and church-monastery lands ^[18]. To localize the Toropetsky volosts assigned already in Moscow time to the Belsky Uyezd, data from the scribe book of the Belsky Uyezd of 1668 were used ^[17]. This is the earliest description of the county, covering its entire territory, compiled shortly after the final entry of Belaya into the Russian state. The territory of Dubna parish on the Toropetsk-Rzhev borderland is reflected in the scribe book of the Rzhev Volodimerov county in 1588/89 ^[29]. Valuable information on the historical geography of the Toropetsk-Rzhev borderland is contained in an extract from the scribe description of the palace volosts of the Rzhev district in 1678, preserved in a copy of the XVIII century. ^[20].

The volosts of Toropetsky county, according to the scribe book of 1540, were previously localized by the authors of this article within the framework of the gis project. The study used the method of continuous localization using the materials of the general surveying of the second half of the XVIII century. and cartographic materials of the XIX century. ^[12].

The idea of Toropets land before Toropets was annexed to the Moscow state is given by the truce charter of 1503 ^{[21, pp. 398-402]}, as well as a number of charters of the 1480s-1490s. The municipalities of Dankovskaya, Kazarinskaya, Lyubutskaya, Turskaya, Startsova, Nevelskaya, Dubna, Rozhnya, Bibirevo, Velizhskaya, Plavetskaya, Ozerskaya and Zhizhetskaya were drawn to Toropets. The last six volosts were not included in the earliest scribe description of Toropetsky county in 1540 . Velizh, presumably, could belong to Toropets county only in the 1520s-1530s. Zhizhetskaya, Ozerskaya and Plavetskaya volosts, located to the west and southwest of Toropets, according to L.A. Bassalygo and V.L. Yanin, did not belong to Toropets district in Lithuanian time ^{[5, p. 190]}.

Accordingly, the volosts of Dankovskaya, Kazarinskaya, Lyubutskaya, Turskaya, Startsova, Nevelskaya, Dubna, Rozhnya and Bibirevo can be considered Toropets volosts proper in the last decades of Toropets being part of the INCL. The volosts located to the east of Toropets, on the Rzhev-Toropetsky and Belsko-Toropetsky borderlands – Startsova, Dubna, Rozhnya and Bibirevo, underwent the most noticeable transformations. The involvement of scribal descriptions of Belsky and Rzhevsky counties adjacent to Toropetsky made it possible to trace their territorial changes. 

The territory of Startsova Volost, according to L.A. Bassalygo and V.L. Yanin, was divided between Toropets and Belaya back in Lithuanian times ^{[5, pp. 192-193]}, but when exactly remains unclear, perhaps during the aggravation of border conflicts in the 1480s - 1490s. The Scribe Book of Toropets county 1540 gives an idea of the Toropetsky part of the parish. Its administrative center was located in Pogue. Antiquity (in spatial proximity to the city of Western Dvina, Tver region). As part of the Belsky Uyezd in the XVII century, the Starkovskaya volost was preserved, which was obviously assigned to the White part of the Startsova Volost. Reconstruction of its territory is possible according to the scribe book of the Belsky district of 1668 . 60 settlements (1 village, 2 villages, 37 villages, 20 wastelands) belonging to six landholdings are described in the parish ^{[17, l. 12-25]}. The Belsky part of the Startsova Volost covered the course of the Velesa River. Its eastern border was located in the marshy interfluve of the Velesa and Mezhi rivers. Thus, the data of descriptions of two counties of the XVI–XVII centuries allow reconstructing the location and size of the Startsova Volost before its division (Fig. 1).

 Fig. 1. Toropetsky povet in the XV century. (until the end of the 1480s).

It can be assumed that it existed within such territorial boundaries until the end of the XV century. In addition, in the scribe's book of 1540, a cluster of settlements is found, attributed to the Startsova Volost, but surrounded by the Toropetskaya lands. Thus, it can be assumed that initially the Startsova parish extended north to the Zimetsky Lake. The large size of the parish before its division is comparable to the area of such formations as Zhizhetskaya, Ozerskaya volosts. In Lithuanian times, the population of Startsova Volost probably maintained relative independence in relation to Toropets. This is reflected in the documents of the office of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellonchik of the 1490s, addressed to the Toropetsky governor, Toropchans and residents of the Startsova volost, which recorded the independent collection of duties in the Startsova Volost and prescribed "not to join the social Toropetsky and Toropchan" ^{[1, pp. 179-180, 394]}. In the XVI century. toropetskaya part of the parish remained the area of settlement of the black-collar peasantry.    

The volosts of Rozhnya and Bibirevo are listed among the Toropets volosts in 1503 and 1523 ^{[2, pp. 148-151]}, but are absent in the scribe book of 1540. The location of the centers of the volosts did not cause doubt among researchers, while there was no detailed idea about their size and movement between counties. L.A. Bassalygo and V.L. Yanin suggested that The volosts were, like half of Startsova, assigned to the White ^{[5, p. 192]}. However, this happened, as we see, already in Moscow time, in the 1520s-1530s. The text of the scribe book of the Belsky district of 1668 helps to solve the problem of their detailed localization, as in the case of the Startsova Volost. Rozhinskaya volost is found in its composition ^{[17, p. 41ob. –49ob.]}. It occupied a small territory, which included the course of the Rozhni River (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. The volosts of Rozhnya and Bibirevo (Dubrovskaya) as part of the Belsky Uyezd according to the scribe book of 1668.

The territory of the Bibirevskaya volost obviously corresponded to the Dubrovskaya volost of the Belsky Uyezd, described in the scribe's book of 1668 ^{[17, l. 25ob. -41]}. It covered the upper course of the Velesa River. 58 toponyms are attributed to it (1 village, 2 villages, 26 villages, 2 repairs and 27 wastelands). The village of Bibirevo is not mentioned in the book of 1668. The scribal materials of the Rzhev Volodimerov district of the XVI–XVII centuries do not allow us to identify parts of the Rozhnya and Bibirevo volosts among the Belsky attributions to the county.

Dubna parish underwent significant territorial transformations in the XV-XVII centuries. It was first mentioned in 1480 as an area of land ownership of the Vitebsk boyars ^{[15, p. 373]}. In 1489, Vasily Davydovich, the governor of the Vselutsky volost of the Rzhev land, seized and cut off half of the Dubna volost from the Toropetsky district. Thus, until 1489, this parish had a larger territory than recorded by the scribe's book of 1540 ^{[5, p. 190]}. In the letter of truce of 1503 Dubna is called a parish, but in the scribe's book of 1540 It appears, rather, as a generalizing name for the cluster of settlements. V.N. Temushev performed the reconstruction of the part torn away from Dubna, shown on the map as a small area between the course of the Pavinitsa (Paynitsa) rivers and the Bolshoy and Maly Studenets lakes. The researcher failed to identify only the Polyanitsa river ^{[22, pp. 115-116]}. Meanwhile, this river (Polyanitsa, Polyanka) flows into the lake. Kolpino from the north. Thus, the rejected territory can be presented in a little more detail.

In the second half of the XVI century. Dubna was assigned to the neighboring county of Rzhev Volodimerov and became part of the Yezzhinsky parish. The inscription could have occurred during the transfer of the Rzhevsky district to the Oprichnina ^{[27, p. 60-61]}. Yezzhinskaya (Yazzhinskaya) volost is characterized in the scribe book of the Rzhevsky uyezd of 1588-1589. letters of A.E. Saltykov ^{[29, L. 389-397]}. It included the area of the former Dubna and was surrounded by the lands of the Volga parish, located between the lakes Peno, Sig and Volga, as well as the right bank of the Volga from Lake Peno to Lake Volga (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Dubna parish in the XVI-XVII centuries.

Part of the Volga volost was for some time part of the Belsky Uyezd, since in the scribe book of the Rzhevsky Uyezd of 1588-1589, its Belsky inscription stands out (this was pointed out by Yu.V. Gauthier) ^{[11, pp. 396-397]}. Among the settlements of the Yezzhinsky parish, toponyms of Dubna are found, known from the previous description, including the churchyards of Dubno and in Luzekh.

In the future, the enclave "in Dubna" is again recorded as part of Toropetsky Uyezd in the scribe book of 1626-1629 ^{[18, l. 205–206ob.]}, while "in Lusekh" remained as part of the Rzhev Uyezd. Probably, the return of Dubna to the Toropetsky district occurred shortly after the Time of Troubles. It became part of the large Kazarinsky parish, which occupied almost the entire northern half of Toropetsky County. At the same time, the name of the cluster of settlements "in Dubna" has been preserved.

The eastern borders of the parishes of Dubna, Rozhnya, Bibirevo formed the Toropetsky section of the Moscow-Lithuanian border, repeatedly reflected in the charters of the XV century. This boundary was studied in detail and localized by V.N. Temushev ^{[22, pp. 110-116]}. It extended from oz. Orlinets to the upper reaches of the river . Osugi (a tributary of the Vazuza River) and passed through a swampy area along the course of the Zhukopa River. In Dubna, the boundary passed, apparently, directly along the course of the Beetle. There was also a Zhukopsky pit, which is mentioned in the "Extract from the Novgorod exile books" ^{[10, p. 285]}. His whereabouts were not established earlier. It is indirectly indicated by the mention of the road "that they go to Rzheva and Toropets" in an extract from the scribe book of Fyodor Izvedinov and the clerk Fyodor Bishov in 1678 ^{[20, l. 109ob.]}. The description describes the palace Molodotudskaya, Zhukopovskaya and Okovetskaya volosts. The road from Toropets to Rzheva Volodimerova crossed the Zhukopa River in the dd area. Lavrovo, Minkino (currently exist), Gorki, empty. Dubasovo. It can be assumed that the Zhukopsky pit on the Moscow-Lithuanian border was located here. Undoubtedly, the road from the Zhukopsky pit passed in the direction of the Dubno churchyard through the churchyard to Luzekh. Other Toropetsky sections of the road are localized on the basis of mentions of the "big" road in the scribe book of the Toropetsky district of 1626-1629 ^{[18, L. 525-526, 570, 571]}. It took place in the Kudinsky parish to the north of the lake. Kudino through the territory of the former Lashirskaya boulevard. Another segment was located in Lyubutskaya volost in the area of the Bezdetka and Lososna rivers. In general, the existing railway connecting the cities of Toropets and Andreapol runs in this direction.

The use of geoinformation technologies in the work on the continuous localization of toponyms of scribal descriptions of three counties allowed us to get a more detailed idea of the territory of Toropetsk land before its entry into the Russian State. Startsova Parish stretched south from Toropets to the large Peletsky Moss swamp. Its southeastern part, lying on the left bank of the Western Dvina, was assigned to Belaya even before Toropets and Belaya joined Moscow. Rozhnya and Bibirevo in the 1520s and 1530s also went White. Finally, Dubna changed its size and status at the end of the XV century as a result of the border conflicts of the XV century and land policy in Russia of the XVI–XVII centuries. The eastern border of the Toropetsky district of the XV century formed the Moscow-Lithuanian border, which is quite accurately localized on the modern map. Passing mainly through impassable swampy terrain and shallow rivers, this boundary undoubtedly had points of intersection with roads. One of these points was the Zhukopsky pit, the location of which is set in the place where the border passed directly along the Zhukop River. The established location of the pit allows you to trace the direction of the Toropetsky section of the road that crossed the Moscow-Lithuanian border. The settlements located on this site require further research, as in written. And according to archaeological sources, in order to deepen the historical context, clarify the chronology of the corresponding settlements along the way.

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