reigned in the year 6907 (1399), took possession of Bulgaria, which stretches along the banks of the Volga, and drove out the Tartars.
This Vasiley Dimitrievich left an only son, whom he did not love because he had suspected his wife Anastasia, who was this child’s mother, of adultery; and therefore on his death-bed he left the Grand Duchy of Moscow, not to his son, but to his brother George. But as George observed that many of the Boyars[1] adhered to his son as the legitimate heir and successor, he hastened to the Tartars, and begged the king to summon Vasiley and decide to whom the Duchy lawfully belonged. The king, instigated by one of his counsellors who supported George, gave his opinion in favour of George in the presence of Vasiley; upon which the latter threw himself at the feet of the king, and begged permission to speak. On receiving the king’s assent, he said: “Thou hast announced thy decision upon lifeless words, but I trust that the living documents which I possess, and which distinctly express, under the authority of thy golden seal, thy former wish to invest me with the Grand Duchy, may be held by thee to be of far greater weight and importance”; and he besought the king to hold his own words in remembrance, and graciously to adhere to the promise which he had given. To which the king replied: “That it would be more consistent with justice to keep the promises contained in living documents, than to admit the validity of dead ones.” He ended by investing Vasiley with the Duchy, and dismissed him.
George, being very indignant at this result, levied an army and drove out Vasiley; but this he treated with the greatest unconcern, and retired to the Principality of Uglitz, which
- ↑ A title borne by the grandees or nobles of Russia. It is said to be derived from boi, a battle, the title being originally given to the chiefs who surrounded the prince on the field of battle. It was subsequently extended to all the chief dignitaries of state. In ancient days the boyars were always consulted by the czar in matters of importance.
