Merilo Pravednoe

Merilo Pravednoe

 

(Just Measure), a collection of laws and commentaries in ancient Rus’, compiled in the 12th and 13th centuries as a guide for judges. It has been preserved in manuscript copies dating from the 14th through 16th centuries, of which the Troitsa copy is the oldest. The Merilo Pravednoe has two parts. The first part contains original and translated stories and admonitions about just and unjust courts and judges. The second part contains Byzantine ecclesiastical and secular laws taken from the Nomocanon and the oldest Slavic and Russian law codes: the Russkaia Pravda (Russian Law), Zakon Sudnyi Liudem (Court Law for the People), and Pravilo Zakonno o Teserkovnykh Liudiakh (Lawful Rule for People of the Church).

PUBLICATION

Merilo Pravednoe: Po rukopisi XIV v. Introduction by M. N. Tikhomirov. Moscow, 1961.