The Medieval Aristocracy of Bulgaria during the 13th – 15th Centuries in the Context of Data from Neighboring Countries

The study raises the question of the increasing penetration in Bulgaria and the neighbouring countries (mostly Byzantium and Serbia) of feudal relations of Western type during the 13th–14th centuries. Nobility with a corresponding hierarchy also emerged, which was different from the official hierarchy typical of the Byzantine legal system. These structures in the three countries were quite similar, but they also had certain distinctive features. Thus, in the Byzantine Empire, the late aristocracy comprised first and foremost the members of the imperial family, followed by the senior magnates (‚megistani‘, μεγιστάνες) descending from the most prominent families in the empire. Further down was the large and motley stratum of the so-called „archons“ (άρχοντες) and the holders of military „pronias“ (πρόνοια), called „stratiotes“ (στρατιώτες). In Serbia there was a similar hierarchy, where immediately below the ruling family were the „major and minor lords“, who until the middle of the 13th c. were called „boyars“ under Bulgarian influence. The most numerous stratum of the Serbian medieval aristocracy were the „rulers“, also called „soldiers“. There was also a nobility hierarchy in the Bulgarian Kingdom, however, due to the historical vicissitudes, very few documents have survived. Previously it was known from them that the aristocracy in the 13th–14th centuries was divided into „major and minor boyars“. I now introduce the data from the most interesting letters of Tsar Ivan Shishman, found in manuscript No. 298 in the Library of the Romanian Academy of Sciences and written between 1393 and 1395. They make it clear that in Bulgaria there was also a large stratum of lower nobles, called „soldiers“ and vassals to the boyars. Comparisons with the feudal system in Western Europe and evidence from Serbian legal documents show that they were called upon by their direct suzerains and were required to report to the army under penalty of capital punishment and confiscation of their estates. Along with the documentary evidence that there was a noble stratum, the study gives examples of the penetration of Western European feudal practices and customs – castle building, knightly rituals, heraldry. Interestingly, after the Ottoman invasion, some of the nobility were drawn into the military corps (askeri tayfesinden) of the conquerors as Sipahis and the so-called cebe-voinutzi. On the other hand, in many European armies in the 15th–16th centuries, the so-called stradioti were highly valued – mercenaries originating from among the former Balkan nobility. Among them there were also Bulgarian nobles, such as those of the Soimirovichi family.