Nahodnik

The title is of Slavic origin and is connected with the verb nahoditi, which can denote arriving or remaining somewhere temporarily, encountering someone, or travelling a long distance on foot. A related Russian word refers to a person who has come from elsewhere or is not a local resident. Because of this broad range of meanings, etymology alone cannot establish the nature of the office with certainty. The only attestation occurs in the protective clause of the Rila Chrysobull of Tsar Ivan Shishman. This part of the charter lists officials who were forbidden to enter the monastery’s estates and impose burdens on their inhabitants. The nahodniks appear immediately before the general prohibition concerning “all the boyars and agents of my tsardom,” which sums up the preceding list. Their place in this administrative context makes it unlikely that the word merely meant outsiders or uninvited guests. They have also been interpreted as messengers, on the basis of both the term’s possible meaning and its position among state officials. The nahodnik probably carried messages and helped maintain communications between the central government and the provinces. While travelling, he may have been entitled to demand food, shelter, and assistance from local inhabitants, which would explain why he was barred from privileged monastic lands. The office ranked low in the hierarchy: the nahodniks occupy the twenty-second and final position in the charter’s list. Since no other evidence is known, neither their precise powers nor the dates when the office emerged and disappeared can be determined.