He builds a white marble palace, lighted by a magic sun, moon, and stars, but the spirit of unrest comes upon him. He must go forth to trade. On his voyage a fierce tempest arises. It is the sea tsar, who is angry, and will not be appeased by an offering of silver or an offering of gold. So the sailors cast lots for the sacrifice. Sadko throws into the water a little ring made of the wood of the true cross; the others fling in iron rings. But wonder Of wonders! the iron floats, the wood sinks. Seeing that there is no escape Sadko puts on his fur coat, and taking in one hand the picture of blessed Saint Nicholas and in the other his golden harp, he leaps into the sea, and the tsar of the sea, sitting in his crystal palace with his queen and his three hundred daughters, receives him and puts him to a hundred tests of courage and skill. He passes them all in safety, and suddenly finds himself on the shore near Novgorod with countless treasures, and he cries: "They see that I am a rich merchant of Novgorod but Novgorod is even richer than I."
The fickle, restless inhabitants of the old city had too many opposing interests to be able to govern themselves; at the same time they were too free-minded and powerful to submit to tyranny from their princes. They called the Normans to do justice over them, but when Rurik went beyond his authority the hero, Vadim, headed a revolt against him. When they elected a new prince he was forced to bind himself by an oath to observe their charter which assured them their ancient laws, liberties, and customs. Even his tax-list was limited. He was forbidden to plant colonies or build new cities in any of the five great cantons of Novgorod; he could not hunt in the neighboring forests except during the autumn; the time of reaping his harvests was fixed for him by law; above all, he was obliged to have the help of the posadnik in carrying out the law, and he could not try a suit in any other city.
His actions were sharply watched by the town council, composed of all the citizens, which, at the ringing of the great bell, met in the Court of Fiery Fame, or in the Square of Saint Sophia. If there was a grievance against the prince "Lord Novgorod made him a bow and showed him the road," or else locked him up in the archbishop's palace. "Who can withstand God and the Great Novgorod?" was the popular boast.
WOMEN OF NOVOGOROD.
One of the grand princes of Kief declared his right to make his son lord of the merchant city, but the men of Novgorod said:—
"We will have nothing to do with thee or thy son; if thy son has a head to spare, let him come."
Another prince, who had abandoned them to rule elsewhere, wished to come back to Novgorod, but the council gave him for answer these words:—
"Thou didst forget thy oath to die with us, and didst eek another throne. Depart from us."
Afterwards they repented and took him back, but to their sorrow. He reigned four years, and then a great council, composed of the men of Novgorod and all the subject towns, accused him of neglecting the poor, of taking pleasure only in dogs and falcons, of wishing to establish himself elsewhere, of cowardly deserting the field of battle, and of having no fixed mind in the quarrels of the princes. He was contemptuously dethroned and exiled.
Some of the citizens traded down the Volga and with the East; others traded down the Dnieper and with Greece. So sometimes there met two rival councils, the one eager to elect a Prince of Suzdal, who could control the eastern water way, the other a Prince of Kief or Chernigof, master of the southern river. Often the rivals met on the bridge, and fast and furious fell the blows until the archbishop came out with his clergy and calmed the tumult. These quarrels often led to the fall of princes and magistrates.
Big Nest of Suzdal, at the request of Novgorod, gave them his son Fiery Fame, who was soon expelled by his unruly subjects. He took an army, came to Torzhok near Novgorod, and blockaded the town. He prevented the merchants from reaching the Volga, cut off the supply of corn, and made famine his ally. The wretched citizens were brought to eat the bark of trees, moss, and lime leaves; more than forty thousand died; the dogs devoured the dead, which lay unburied in the streets.
Venging Fame the Rash heard of Novgorod's plight, and sent word:—
"Torzhok shall not thrust itself above Novgorod; I will deliver your land and your citizens or lose my life."
After he had brought the principality to order, he summoned the council and said:—
"I salute Saint Sophia, the tomb of my father, and you, O men of Novgorod! I am going to reconquer Galitch from the strangers, but I shall never forget you. My hope is to lie by the tomb of my father in Saint Sophia."
The assembly begged him to stay, but he was deaf to their tears and entreaties. The excitement of new adventures had more attraction for the sturdy old hero. Hungarians, Poles, and Tartars alike felt the edge of his sword.
Novgorod invited his nephew from Smolensk to mount the throne, but he could not control the factions of the city. The posadnik arrested a noble. Some of the citizens took the noble's part; others supported the mayor. A general rising took place; for a whole week the alarm bells of the fortress rang incessantly. At last the citizens met with drawn swords on the bridge. The posadnik looked at Saint Sophia and cried:—
"I shall be the first to fall, or else God will prove me right by giving the victory to my brothers." The battle was not long nor fierce; only ten men were killed, and peace was restored.
The Prince charged the posadnik with causing the riot, and sent his herald to demand his removal. "What crime has he done?" asked the council. "No crime," said the herald, "but it is the Prince's will."
"I rejoice," replied the posadnik, "that I am charged with no sort of crime; but you, my brothers, can do your will on princes and on posadniks."
Then the Council sent word to the Prince:—
"Thou didst kiss the cross and swear to remove no man from power without cause, and now we salute thee. The posadnik is ours, and with thee we have nought to do." Thus the Prince was shown the road out of Novgorod and was seen no more. During the next half dozen years the riotous city changed its princes as many times. Famines and fires helped to bring down the pride of miserable citizens, who were glad to sell themselves as slaves for a mouthful of bread.
Big Nest's son, Fiery Fame, came back for the third and fourth time, and ruled them like a tyrant until he became Grand Prince of Suzdal. Then he left them as their prince, his son, Alexander, the Hero of the Neva.
Pskof And Viatka
The most important of the Novgorod's vassal towns was Pskof, whose kreml, with solid ramparts of stone, overlooked the lake and river from which it was named. "These once famous walls are to-day a heap of ruins, and the street-boys amuse themselves by splashing stones into the Pskova to frighten the washer-women."
The Cathedral of the Trinity still stands at one end of the fortress, and there rest in metallic coffins the bones of its favorite princes.
It was near Pskof that Igor, as he returned from hunting, first saw the beautiful Olga, the daughter of a poor Norman, and married her though she was not of princely blood.
WOMEN OF PSKOF.
Pskof had a long struggle with Germans, Swedes, and Lithuanians on the one side and with the father city on the other. Finally Novgorod recognized the vassal as a "younger brother, Lord Pskof the Great." The people were famous for their refined and kindly manners, for the straightforwardness, good faith, and simplicity of their dealings. Their laws and customs were much the same as those of Novgorod. In both towns the social distinctions were strongly marked. The boyars and lower nobility formed an aristocracy above the merchants, the black people, and the peasants. The merchants had a guild of their own and a powerful church. Then there were bands of freebooters, or rather free-boaters, 1 who followed their reckless leaders up and down the great Volga and its tributaries, plundering, seeking wild adventures, and planting colonies in the forests of the North.