Use of the titles of Ivan IV in documents (based on the materials of the Iosifo-Volotsky monastery)

The article examines how the transformation of the titulature of the Russian monarch in the XVI century was reflected in business documentation. The goal is to reveal the changing semantic content of the ruler’s titles. The study was carried out on the basis of the acts of the Iosifo-Volotsky monastery. The chronological framework of the study is determined by 1530-1584. The territorial scope of the study includes the central regions of Russia. Initially, all the acts with any marks of the scribes of the central office, in which the titles of the Russian ruler are found, were selected from the entire array of documents. Aspects of the values embedded in them were identified. At the next stage, various spiritual, contribution certificates of sale, and subjects of the ruler were selected. The tinted meanings of the titles of the ruler used in the documents were also revealed. After the adoption of the new title, the prerogatives of the Russian ruler did not change: neither in the collection of taxes, nor in the management of finances, nor in the management of subjects. As a grand duke, Ivan IV had the rights of a tsar. The term «sovereign» in business documents continues to be used in the sense of «master, owner» not only in relation to the ruler, but also to any owner of land by his servants or dependent people.