Rulers and Nobles in Fifteenth-Century Muscovy

The 15th century saw a dramatic expansion of the Muscovite state, and the emergence of a ruling prince with absolute authority over his subjects. The iconography and legends on coins and seals of that period are subjected to a penetrating analysis in two of these studies, which reveal, on a symbolic level, the developing ideology of the Muscovite princes. The remaining articles examine the actual basis upon which their power rested and the structures that supported it. They investigate the mechanisms by which the old service nobility and the aristocrats, many once territorial princes in their own right, were transformed into obedient servants, and make clear the economic pressures that obliged them to accept these new conditions and subordinate status.Alef, Gustave is the author of 'Rulers and Nobles in Fifteenth-Century Muscovy', published 1983 under ISBN 9780860781202 and ISBN 0860781208.