About the Meaning of the “Title” ДРОУГЪ during the First Bulgarian Tsardom

Authors:

Pages: 426-435

Abstract:

The new Tatiana Slavova’s book “Ruler and Administration in Early Medieval Bulgaria. Philological Aspects” presents lots of new not well known or still unknown aristocratic titles from the times of the First Bulgarian Tsardom. Among them can be seen the title дроугъ/ дроугове, interpreted by the author as a word with an Altaic origin with the meaning of ‘chieftain, leader’. But the meanings which she takes off from the Old Bulgarian texts allow a different interpretation of the said title. Available translation uses of the title дроугъ/дроугове in Old Bulgarian texts allow to connect it with the well known Old Slavic/Old Bulgarian word дроугъ and its derivate word дроужина with a meaning of ‘ruler’s companions’. The latter word is very well known from Old Russian sources but evidences about it in Early Medieval Bulgaria are only presumable. The review, presented in the paper, of the presence of the word in Old Bulgarian texts shows that it was used in the First Bulgarian Tsardom and that the origin of the word can be connected with Tsar Simeon’s époque and his court. In the pagan period the ruler’s companions institution was named θρεπτ|ς Fνθρωπος.

Keywords:

the First Bulgarian Tsardom, aristocracy, palaeobulgaristics, ruler’s court, Tsar Simeon’s epoque, ruler’s companions

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