Kutakov С. С. Churches and Monasteries «Within the Tver’ City Walls» and Their Landholdings in the 16th-Century Tver’ Uyezd

Sergei S. Kutakov
Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, Moscow)
ORCID: 0000-0001-5546-402X
E-mail: k_sergei_s@mail.ru

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UDC 94(470.331)«15»:913
DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2025-4-4-42-53

ABSTRACT. Information on the churches and monasteries that existed within the city of Tver’ during the Middle Ages and the early modern period has been primarily used in works devoted to the historical topography of the city. Historiography has not addressed the issues of the size, geographical distribution, and origins of the landholdings of Tver’s churches and monasteries, although the cadastral materials of the 16th-century Tver’ uyezd allow the elucidation of this topic. This article provides a summarized list of churches and monasteries situated within the Tver’ Kremlin in the 16th century, estimates the size of their landholdings in the Tver’ uyezd, traces the territorial distribution of their patrimonial estates, and identifies the probable sources of their origins. Thirty-two patrimonial estates across 11 volosts (districts) and stans (sub-districts) of the Tver’ uyezd were distributed among the churches and monasteries of the Tver’ Kremlin. The cadastral descriptions of these estates contain 97 toponyms, of which 24 have been localized on a map (24,77 %). The landholdings are categorized as large and small. The large patrimonies are traced back to the princely grants for the maintenance of the churches, likely made at the time of their foundation. The small landholdings are originated from the private donations of a later period. Most were located within a 30 km radius from Tver’. Based on an The assessment of the size of the distinct holdings may serve the basis for suggestion about the hierarchy of the churches and monasteries within the Tver’ Kremlin. A hypothesis is put forward in regard to the possible involvement of the Tver’ palace administration and the episcopal see in endowing certain churches with estates. In several cases, historical-geographical reconstruction elucidates the circumstances of the establishment of some churches and their side-chapels in the 14th–15th centuries.

KEYWORDS: historical geography, ecclesiastical and monastic landownership, census books, Tver’ uyezd, Tver’

For citation: Kutakov С. С. [Churches and Monasteries “Within the Tver’ City Walls” and Their Landholdings in the 16th Century Tver’ Uyezd]. Istoriko-geograficheskiy zhurnal [Historical Geography Journal], 2025, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 42–53. DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2025-4-4-42-53 (In Russian).

Received 14 July 2025
Accepted 13 November 2025

© 2025 The Author

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