THE NORMAN SETTLEMENT IN EUROPE AND ITS I PACT ON SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND STATE FORMATION OF LOCAL TRIBAL ASSOCIATIONS

Abstract

The article analyzes the process of interaction between immigrants from Scandinavia (‘Varangians’ in the Slavic and ‘Normans’ in the European tradition) with local societies and states and proto-state formations. A description is given of the relationship that the Scandinavians had with the Slavic tribes, and it is also emphasized that they are more peaceful, based on trade relations, than the relations of the Scandinavians with the peoples and rulers of Western Europe, where these relations were more violent and more often of an aggressive nature. The question of the ratio of the development of the societies of Scandinavians and Slavs in the described period is revealed. It is emphasized that this level was approximately equal. Emphasis is placed on the practice of regulating relations with the Scandinavians, by regulating them in various treaties and agreements. Examples of such agreements from England, France, as well as the regions of the Slavs are given. It is emphasized that, in contrast to Western European examples, there was obviously no written contract at all. This can be explained by the absence of a written legal tradition in the culture of both Slavs and Scandinavians. While the presence of a written form of registration of relations between local societies (states) and the Scandinavians, due to the presence of the tradition of Roman law and the written fixation of legal acts, which were inherited by the rulers of Western Europe. As a result, a conclusion is made about the different consequences of the interaction of the Scandinavians in the western and eastern parts of Europe. If in the West this led to conflicts, conquests, expansion and the emergence of new states by force (the Duchy of Normandy), then in the vastness of Eastern Europe, namely on the lands of the future Kievan Rus, a more peaceful union of Scandinavian leaders with representatives of local elites is obvious, and it is also said about the fact that the Scandinavians played a significant role in the creation and development of the statehood of Kievan Rus.