courtries

Updated: July 4, 2025

And all those to whom any land falls by inheritance are in no better condition, for if they die without any male issue, all their lands fall into the hands of the Emperor; as, moreover, if there be any rich man amongst them, who in his own person is unfit for the wars, and yet hath such wealth, that thereby many noblemen and warriors might be maintained, if any of the courtries present his name to the Emperor, the unhappy man is by- and-by sent for, and in that instant deprived of all his riches, which with great pains and travail all his lifetime he had gotten together, except perhaps some small portion thereof be left him to maintain his wife, children, and family.

Richard Hakluyt - Discovery of Muscovy