ON A PASSAGE IN WILLIAM OF RUBRUCK’S ACCOUNT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2026.03.16Keywords:
Rubruk, Mongols, Rus, silver ingots, axe, tribute, grain.Abstract
Certain information by William of Rubruck on the Mongol tribute is analyzed in the paper. At the beginning of his journey, William of Rubruck reports on the components of the taxation system in Eastern Europe after the Mongol invasion. «From the mouth of the Tanais westward as far as the Danube all is theirs; even beyond the Danube... towards Constantinople, Blakia, which is the land of Assan, and minor Bulgaria as far as Sclavonia, all pay them tribute; and besides the agreed tribute, they have taken, in recent years, from each house one axe and all the iron which they found in the ingot (in Hakluyt’s 1599 text — grain (frumentum), which they found unwrought)». There are several versions of the translation of this passage but some researchers link the Mongol term «axe» to a silver ingot. A «silver axe» (silver ingot) appears in The Secret History of the Mongols. Subsequently, Rubruck uses the word yaskot (Turk. «yastuk») to refer to silver ingots. P. Pelliot has devoted an article to this word, but he also drew attention to the word «axe» (ingot) (Pelliot 1930). Rus monetary ingots (Kyiv, Novgorod and Chernigov type grivnas) date back to the 11th — first half of the 13th century. Some Chernihiv type grivnas bear a resemblance to the shapes of some old axes. The issue of using silver ingots (grivnas of the Kyiv, Novgorod, and Chernihiv types) after the Mongol invasion is debated by many researchers. The author supports the viewpoint of I. Spasski and considers that a portion of the Chernihiv type grivnas are dated to the Mongol period. Chernihiv type grivnas remained in circulation in the second half of the 13th century (used for tribute to the Mongols, ransoms, etc.). The main part of the tribute paid to the Mongols from Ukraine consisted of silver and grain.
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