01 103 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops

Rynda (russian: Рында) were

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

grand prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...

s and

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

s in the 16–17th centuries.

History and appearance

The term ''rynda'' first appears in around 1380 and are mentioned to have been present at the

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo (russian: Мамаево побоище, Донское побоище, Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command ...

, though did not exist as a unit it seems until the 16th century.Т.11. VIII. Летописный сборник, именуемый Патриаршею или Никоновскою летописью. Под ред. С. Ф. Платонова. — СПб: Типография И. Н. Скороходова, 1897. С. 59 Ryndy were selected from young men of noble origin. Ryndy acted as bodyguards to the Russian court and accompanied the tsar on journeys and diplomatic missions, and would carry his weapons and armour and accompany him into battle. They were not

court official A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

s and were not paid for their service, being accommodated in the royal household. The position was abolished by reforms of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in 1698. The ryndy had an exotic and imposing appearance. They wore white damask

kaftan A kaftan or caftan (; fa, خفتان, ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's l ...

s trimmed with ermine and embroidered with silver lacing, white boots and tall gorlatnayas made of white fox fur. Their status was indicated by silk and gold sashes worn around their waists and golden chains worn around the torso. Ryndas carried heavily decorated

bardiche A bardiche , berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth or Danish axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are nu ...

s with gold and silver appliqués and bejewelled handles. Examples of these still exists in the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin Armoury,Officially called the "Armou/ory Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armou/ory Palace", the "Moscow Armou/ory", the "Armou/ory Museum", and the "Moscow Armou/ory Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. (r ...

Boguszowicz Reception of the Polish envoys

References

Obsolete occupations Tsardom of Russia Bodyguards {{Russia-mil-stub

History and appearance

See also

References