Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Categories: Historical legislatures | Institutions of government | Slavic culture | Kievan Rus | Polish history | Viking Age
Veche
Veche, Wiec (Russian: вече, Polish: wiec) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.
The word 'veche/wiec' is derived from an Old Slavic root viet, meaning "council" or "talk".
Veche in Rus
The earliest mentions of veches in Russian chronicles refer to examples in Belgorod-on-the-Dnieper in 997, Novgorod the Great in 1016 and in Kiev in 1068.
The veche was the highest legislature and judicial authority in the republics of Novgorod until 1478 and Pskov until 1510.
The assemblies discussed matters of war and peace, adopted laws, and called for and expelled rulers. In Novgorod, the veche also elected archbishops.
The Novgorod assembly could be summoned by anyone who rung the veche bell. This bell was a symbol of republican sovereignty and independence. The whole population of the city - boyars, merchants, and common citizens - then gathered at Yaroslav's Court . Separate assemblies could be held in the districts of Novgorod.
In Kiev, the veche was summoned in front of the Cathedral of St Sophia, and in Pskov in the court of the Trinity cathedral.
Wiec in Poland
The first legendary Polish ruler, Siemowit, who started the Piast dynasty, was chosen by a wiec according to Gallus Anonymus. The idea of the wiec led in 1182 to development of the Polish parliament, the Sejm.
In Yugoslavia this word was used for the houses of the Yugoslavian parliament.
See also
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