Harasyim Ihnatavich from Vitsebsk turned out to be an armored boyar. A historian told about his fate
The story of the cross, which Vitsebsk utility workers extracted from a water pipeline trench in the village of Karovka, has continued. A historian deciphered the full name of the man and traced the history of his lineage through archival documents. It turns out his surname gave the name to the village.
Stone cross from the village of Karovka, Vitsebsk district. Photo: Vitsebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
Historian and archivist Dzianis Liseichykau deciphered the text carved on the front side of the stone. The inscription reads as follows: «[This?] cross stands [for] the deceased, in glorious memory of Harasyim Ihnatavich Ushakovich-Karouchynski, in the year 1639».
Literally, with the letters used in Old Belarusian at that time: «[Сей?] крыжъ стоить [за] небощыкомъ славное памети Гарасимомъ Игнатовичомъ Ушаковичомъ Коровчинскимъ року 1639». It is noteworthy how similar Belarusian was then to modern Belarusian: «kryž» (cross), «nyabožčyk» (deceased), «staić» (stands). Only then the word «rok» (year) was more often used, not «hod» (year), as we do now.
True, regarding the last Cyrillic numerals, the historian has doubts, as we did earlier, but this option seems to him the most probable.
Who were the armored boyars
Who was this man? An analysis of the acts of the Vitsebsk land court showed that the Ushakovichy-Karouchynski (or simply Karouki) belonged to the local estate of armored boyars.
This was a very specific intermediate social group in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Armored boyars originated from impoverished boyars, free peasants, or liberated serfs.
Their households were completely exempt from taxes and feudal duties, but for this, they had to perform military service on horseback and in heavy ("armored") weaponry. By their status, they were close to «putnyya boyars» (road boyars), who performed the functions of messengers and road guards.
Formally, these groups were abolished already in 1528: then the wealthier boyars were transferred to the noble estate, and the poorer ones — to peasants. However, in practice, both categories existed until the end of the 16th century. Moreover, even in the middle of the 19th century, in the former border districts with Russia, Nevelsky and Sebezhsky uyezds of the Vitsebsk Governorate, some peasants continued to call themselves armored boyars.
Genealogy of the Karouchynski
The history of this particular lineage is well traceable through documents.
The ancestor of the family, Ivan Ushak, already in the period from 1555 to 1564, received land plots here from the Vitsebsk voivode Stefan Zbarazhski. Ivan had a son Ihnat, and he, in turn, had Harasyim. The name Harasyim Ihnatavich is regularly recorded in court documents from 1618.
A letter from Surazh sub-starosta Yan Stakhouski from 1630 to the «Karouchany boyars» concerning the demarcation of their lands with the Lemnitsky peasants has also been preserved. And in 1635, Harasyim, along with his sons Anton and Zmitser, received a document precisely outlining the boundaries of their possessions (the text mentions that on their edge they «buried a mound», i.e., built a burial mound, a hill). The document also lists picturesque local toponyms: Tsyomnyya Baloty (Dark Swamps), Kadzilau Loh (Kadzilau Ravine), Launyya Rostani (Hunting Crossroads).
When Harasyim died in the late 1630s, his sons erected this monumental stone monument to their father. And the surname of the lineage eventually became attached to the settlement itself, which is known today as Karovka.
How the tombstone of Harasyim Ushakovich-Karouchynski was found
Transportation of the stone cross to the regional museum. Photo: Vitsebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
Concerns were voiced that utility workers might have stumbled upon the monument by disturbing old burials, however, the situation was clarified by Dzianis Yurchak, chief specialist of the Culture Department of the Vitsebsk Regional Executive Committee and a historian.
According to him, the cross was found during the laying of a pipe right next to an existing road. The artifact lay at a depth of one and a half meters. Most importantly, no human remains (bones) or any associated artifacts were recorded around it.
This gives reason to believe that the monument was moved from its original location during the construction of a village road many years ago. In ancient times, crosses were placed near roads and, especially, at crossroads. It was precisely the absence of the burial itself that prompted specialists to decide to take the cross to the museum. Now it will be stored and exhibited in the Vitsebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, which is located in the building of the city hall.
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