Kholopi

This is coolbert:

Yet one more instance of the military slave.

Kholop. During the era of Feudalism in Russia, a serf during a time of war comporting himself as a SOLDIER! Janissaries we have heard of. Mamelukes we have heard of. But never kholops.

A kholop . . . was a type of feudal serf in Russia between the 10th and early 18th centuries. Their legal status was close to that of slaves.

Kholops their function to accompany their lord and master during wartime. Mission while on the move I imagine screening, reconnaissance, scouting, devoted bodyguard for their # 1 man..

Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops. Armed servants. Sigismund von Herberstein.

Combat servants. 

"'Combat servants' (boevie kholopi), also known as 'military slaves' in literature, constituted an armed retinue and personal protection for large and medium-sized landowners in the 16th-18th centuries, and carried out military service together with noblemen, constituting a considerable part of the 'Landed Army'. They were equipped as mounted archers, usually wearing cheap quilted armor and caps.

See my previous blog entries the topic the military slave:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/05/military-slaves.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/07/mamelukes.html

coolbert.