V. Dahl in his Explanatory Dictionary interprets this concept as “secular ruler, supreme head of the country, sovereign person”, that is, he is always a person with power and the ability to govern. The second, outdated meaning is given by the "Explanatory Dictionary" by T. Efremova - "a respectful appeal to his master, the eldest in the family, official."
The meaning of the word "sovereign" in ancient Russia
In Russia, until the fourteenth century, this was the name of any person with power. The words "lord", "sovereign" and "lord" have the same meaning in the monuments of ancient Russian literature - such as the "Tale of Bygone Years" of the XI century and the "Word of Igor's Regiment" of the XII century. He calls the sovereign both the owner of the stolen thing and the owner of the choir, lands, servants (servants) "Russian Truth" of the XI century.
Since the XIV century, terminology can be traced in the codes of Russian laws. For example, the Novgorod Judicial Charter does not allow to judge a serf (servant) and a slave without a sovereign, that is, a master. The Pskov Judicial Charter refers to the sovereign as the owner of hired labor and land. This value is maintained throughout the existence of the Moscow state.
In the judiciary, the codes of laws of Muscovy, the serf (servant) who killed his master is called the state killer. A man who has slaves is always a sovereign. Also called the owner of the reap (mowing). As you can see, until the XVII century, the sovereign is a person who has something: a thing, a slave, a house or land.
In the code of Russian law - the Council Code of 1649 - the "sovereign" is changed to "boyar", that is, the owner. Having lost official status, the word has long been used in everyday life and literature as a respectful appeal to the main family member or official, official. The expression "gracious sovereign" etymologically dates back to the Moscow period of the Russian state.
The use of the term in politics
In the first half of the 14th century, significance extended to the area of power. The princes were large landowners, "sovereigns," and those in their service named them that way.
Gradually, the word changed meaning and began to designate a person with supreme power. Already in the second half of the XIV century, the sovereign is a title. The great sovereign was first named Vasily the Dark, then Dmitry Shemyaku. Ivan III went further. Having adopted the title, he ordered to depict it on coins and a personal seal, included in its composition the names of the most important annexed territories.
The efforts of the Moscow rulers to consolidate their foreign policy status, to stand on a par with the European monarchs led to the use of the title on the basis of the genealogy and the fullness of power.
Title Replacement
The claims acquired legal significance in the era of Peter I. The title contained a complete list of all the monarch’s possessions: "we, the most revered and sovereign great sovereign and great prince Peter Alekseevich ..."
Since 1721, the combination “great sovereign, tsar” has been changed to “emperor and autocrat All-Russian”. Until the end of the monarchy in Russia, the word "sovereign" in the official title of the autocrats was present only in the name of the regions: sovereign Iversky, sovereign of Turkestan, etc.