The Noble Servitor and His World 41
the fact that gentry servitors might well be forced into forms of military service
far more onerous than the traditional levy (see below, p. 85). 17
'Official' compensation (that is, disregarding booty) took three forms: jobs,
cash, and land. I he tlrst benefited the metropolitan nobility in the main. Dur-
ing the sixteenth century no case is known of promotion to boyar rank of any
individual who had not previously demonstrated prowess in the field.^18 This
pattern continued under the Romanovs: one third of those who became Duma
members between 1613 and 1645 (15 out of 48) had military experience
(including terms as provincial voivodes), although this was not the main avenue
to career advancement.^19 In a later study of a larger group, the 'boyar elite',
Crummey found that over half 'functioned exclusively as officers or military
administrators', while 'another one-fifth combined army duties with service in
the civil bureaucracy during their apprenticeship'.^20 Once in the Duma,
however, only one man in five concentrated wholly on military duties^21 -partly,
it seems, because this involved prolonged absence from the capital, with all the
political risks that this entailed. In the provinces, as we know, the commanders
were men with active service backgrounds; so too were the elected guba elders,
whose principal job was to track down and punish bandits. One of the few cer-
tainties about the holders of this office was that they were members of the pro-
vincial gentry.^22
As the Muscovite sovereigns accumulated greater wealth, they could afford
to recompense servitors in ways that did less obvious damage to their subjects'
well-being. The treasury maintained a sizeable stock of valuables (furs, cloth,
precious vessels, arms, etc.) which could be distributed as largesse to the
favoured. After the Kazan' campaign Ivan IV held a three-day victory celebra-
tion at which 48,000 precious objects were given out.2-1 During the Thirteen
Years War one leading commander got three new fur coats with velvet trim-
mings within the space of a few months, and his colleagues fared almost as
well.^24 Such practices were destined to have a long life, as we shall see. Medals
were also awarded. Fletcher describes them as 'a piece of gold stamped with
the image of St. George on horseback, which they hang on their sleeves and set
in their caps'.^2517 On the periodization or Muscovite history see Vernadsky, Tsurdum uf Moscow, ii. 752; er.
also our scheme in 'Muse. Elite', pp. 207-8, where, however, use or 1he Marx-Wiufogel concept
or 'oriental despotism' requires modification.
18 Russ, Adel, p. 9.
19 Crummey, 'Reconstitution', p. 207.
20 Id., Aristocrats and Servitors, p. 37. The proportion was as high as 85 per cent in the first
years of Tsar Michael's reign, and 87 per cent in the first years or his succes~or\; it fell 10 66 per
cent in 1634-44 and to 62 per cent in 1676-89: id., 'Noble Official', p. 64.
21 Crummey, Aristocrats and Servitors, p. 44.
22 Keep. 'Bandits', p. 208.
ii Russ, Adel, p. 8.
24 AMG iii. 100, t51 (t660); cf. ORV xvii. 354-6 (1679).
2j Fletcher, Russe Commonwealth, p. 186 (Schmidt edn., p. 85). l'or the beginnings of this
practice see Alef, 'Muse. Mil. Reforms', p. 82.