Slavery and its Role in the Formation of Medieval Society Among the Slavs

Abstract

Research on medieval Slavic society often considers slavery to be a quantitatively insignificant institution. However, it played a crucial role in the development of the feudal social order. This article examines the different forms of slavery as one of the many factors contributing to feudalization.
The origins of slavery among the Slavs lie in war captivity. In early times, captured enemies were often killed, but with increasing contact with more developed societies, the practice of enslavement became more widespread. As early as the Roman period, Slavs supplied slaves to imperial markets. In the early Middle Ages, war captives—especially women and children—were integrated into Slavic society, a practice referred to as "assimilation slavery." Later, an "exploitative slavery" emerged, in which slaves were used for agricultural and craft labor.
This study is based on historical sources such as the Russkaya Pravda as well as archaeological and ethnographic studies. It demonstrates that slaves were initially housed in manor estates. With economic development, many were settled on separate farms and integrated into the feudal dependency system. Thus, slavery served as an important transitional phase toward serfdom.
Although slaves constituted only a small portion of the total population (estimated at about 9%), their role in the formation of medieval society was crucial. The labor of slaves contributed to the economic foundation of emerging power structures and influenced social dynamics. Slavery paved the way for the later feudalization of the peasant population and was therefore a key factor in the social transformation of medieval Slavic society.