s with us and Igor; if we do not
destroy him, we are lost.' Then they sent deputies who said to him,
'why dost thou come anew unto us? Hast thou not collected all the
tribute?' But Igor would not hear them, so the Drevlians came out of
the town of Korosthenes, and slew Igor and his men, for they were but
a few."

The drujina or body-guard of the duke was at the same time his
council. The men composing it were considered as members of his
family; they ate at his table and shared his amusements as well as his
toil. He did nothing without consulting them, and was really but the
first among his peers. They formed a court of justice, and it was from
among them that he appointed the voievods or governors of fortresses,
and possadniks or commandants of large towns. We have a description of
the courts of that time by an Arab writer named Ibn Dost. He says: (p. 034)
"When a Russian brings a complaint against another, he summons him
before the court of the prince where both state their case. When the
prince has pronounced his verdict, his orders are executed; but if
both parties are dissatisfied, the dispute must be decided by weapons.
He whose sword cuts sharper, gains his cause. At the time of the
fight, the relatives of the two adversaries appear armed, and surround
the space set apart. The combatants then come to blows, and the victor
may impose any terms he pleases."

The people of the country, the peasants, were not quite so free as
when Rurik landed. They began to be known as _moujik_, a contemptuous
diminutive of the word mouj or man, literally manikin. The merchants
or _gosti_ did not form a distinct class, but in larger cities, such
as Novgorod and Kief, they had a voice in the administration. These
cities had a vetche or municipal council which directed the city's
business without any direct interference from the prince. The
successors of Rurik attended to the defense of the country, the
administration of justice, and the collection of tribute and taxes,
which sources of revenue were appropriated by them and served for
their support and for that of the drujina.

The Slavs of that time exhibited many characteristics which we
recognize in the Russians of our time. Leo the Deacon, a noted writer
of that time, mentions that they fought in a compact body, and seemed
like a wall of iron, bristling with lances, glittering with shields,
whence rang a ceaseless clamor like the waves of the sea. A huge
shield covered them to