Excerpts from the Domostroi (mid-16th century)
Written between 1550 and 1600, the Domostroi is Russia's oldest known household-management guide. Offering everything from food and drink recipies to detailed advice on etiquette, its unknown authors provided Muscovite readers with a blueprint for proper sixteenth-century living. The five excerpts presented here fall into the category of prescriptions on social conduct. Together they offer an idealized picture of gentility during the era of Ivan the Terrible: they describe life not as it probably was in most gentry homes, but as progressive upper-strata Muscovites thought it ought to be.
1. How does the Domostroi suggest that Muscovites incorporate religion into their daily lives?
2. What does the Domostroi suggest about Muscovite family relations?
3. What do the injuctions regarding servants in the Domostroi suggest about the nature and quality of their service?
4. How does the Domostroi reinforce the idea of social hierarchy?
How To Educate Children And Bring Them Up In The Fear of God
If God sends children, whether sons or daughters, the father and mother must take care of them. Provide for them and bring them up in good instruction. Teach them the fear of God and politeness and propriety. Teach them some handicraft, according to the time and age of the children: the mother instructing her daughters, and the father his sons, as best he knows and God counsels him. Love them and watch them and save them through fear. Teaching and instructing them and reasoning with them, punish them. Teach your children in their youth, and you will have a quiet old age. Look after their bodily cleanliness, and keep them from all sin, like the apple of your eye and your own souls. If children transgress through the neglect of their parents, their parents will answer for these sins on the terrible judgement day. If children are not taken care of and transgress through lack of parental instruction, or do some evil, there will be to both their parents and the children a sin before God, scorn and ridicule before men, a loss to the house, grief to oneself, and cost and shame from the judges. If the children are brought up in the fear of God by God-fearing, wise and sensible people, in good instruction and sensible teaching, in wisdom and politeness and work and handicraft, such children and their parents will be loved by God, blessed by the clerical vocation, and praised by good people. When they are of the proper age, good people will gladly and thankfully marry off their sons, according to their possessions and the will of God, or will give their daughters in marriage to such sons. And if God should take away one of their children, after confession and extreme unction, the parents [should] bring a pure offering to God to seek its place in the eternal palace. The child should be bold to beg God's mercy and the forgiveness of his parents' sins.
How To Teach Children and Save Them Through Fear
Punish your son in his youth, and he will give you a quiet old age, and restfulness to your soul. Slack not in beating the boy, for he will not die from your striking him with the rod, but will be in better health. When you strike his body, you save his soul from death. If you love your son, punish him frequently, that you may rejoice later. Chide your son in his childhood and you will be glad in his manhood, so that you may boast among the wicked and make your enemies envious. Bring up your child with much prohibition and you will have peace and blessing from him. Do not smile at him, or play with him. Though this will diminish your trouble while he is a child, it will increase it when he is older, and you will cause much bitterness to your soul. Give him no power in his youth, but kick his ribs when he disobeys you in his wilfulness while he is growing. Otherwise there will be aggravation and suffering in your soul, loss to your house, destruction to your property, scorn from your neighbours and ridicule from your enemies, and cost and worriment from the authorities.
How Chnstians Are To Cure Diseases And All Kinds of Ailments
If God send any disease or ailment down upon a person, let him cure himself through the grace of God, through tears, prayer, fasting, charity to the poor, and true repentance. Let him thank the Lord and beg His forgiveness, and show mercy and undisguised charity to everybody. Have the clergy pray to the Lord for you, and sing the mass. Sanctify the water with holy crosses and holy relics and miracle-working images, and be annointed with holy oil. Frequent the miracle-working and holy places, and pray there with a pure conscience. In this way you will receive cure for all your ailments from God. But you must henceforth abstain from sin, and in the future do no wrong, and keep the commands of the spiritual fathers, and do penance. Thus you will be purified from sin, and your spiritual and bodily ailments will be cured, and God will be gracious to you.
The Wife Is Always And In All Things To Seek The Counsel Of Her Husband
In all affairs of everyday life, the wife is to seek the counsel of her husband, and to ask him, if she needs anything. Let her be sure that her husband wants her to keep company with the guests she invites, or the people she calls upon. Let her put on her best garment, if she receives a guest, or herself is invited somewhere to dinner. By all means let her abstain from drinking liquor, for a drunk man is bad enough, but a drunk woman has no place in the world. A woman ought to talk with her lady-friends of handiwork and housekeeping. She must pay attention to any good word that is said in her own house, or in those of her friends: how it is that good women live, how they keep house, manage their households, instruct their children and servants, obey their husbands, and ask their advice in everything, and submit to them. And if there is anything she does not know, let her politely inquire about it.... It is good to meet such good women, not for the sake of eating and drinking with them, but for the sake of good conversation and information, for it is profitable to listen to them. Let not a woman rail at anyone, or gossip about others. If she should be asked something about a person, let her answer: "I know nothing about it, and have heard nothing of it. I do not inquire about things that do not concern me, nor do I sit in judgement over the wives of princes, boiars, or my neighbours."
How To Instruct Servants
Direct your servants not to talk about other people. If they have been among strangers, and have noticed anything bad there, let them not repeat it at home. Neither should they spread rumors about what is going on at home. A servant must remember what he has been sent for, and he must not respond to any other questions that are put to him. The moment he has carried out his commission, he should return home and report to his master in regard to the matter he has been sent for. Let him not gossip of things he has not been ordered to report on, lest he cause quarrel and coldness between the masters. If you send your servant or son to tell or do something, or buy something, ask him twice: "What have I ordered you to do? What are you to say, or do, or buy?" If he repeats to you what you have ordered him to do, all is well.... If you send food or drink anywhere, send full measures so that servants cannot lie about them. Send your wares after having measured or weighed them, and count your money before you send it out. Best of all, dispatch things under seal. Carefully instruct the servant whether he is to leave the things at the house, if the master should be absent, or if he is to bring them back home.... When a servant is sent to genteel people, let him knock at the door softly. If anyone should ask him, as he passes through the courtyard: "What business brings you here?" let him not give him any satisfaction, but say: "I have not been sent to you. I shall answer the person to whom I have been sent." Let him clean his dirty feet before the antechamber, or house, or cell. Let him wipe his nose, clear his throat, and correctly say his prayers. If he does not receive an "amen" in response, he should repeat the prayer in a louder voice, twice or three times. If he still receives no answer, he must softly knock at the door. When he is admitted, he should bow before the holy images, give his master's respects, and recite his message. While doing so, let him not put his finger in his nose, nor cough, nor clean his nose, nor clear his throat, nor spit. If he absolutely must do these things, let him step aside. He must stand straight and not look to either side when reciting the message. Neither should he include any matter not relevant to the message. Having done his duty, he should return home without delay to report to his master.
Non-attributed translation, revised (syntax clarifications and re-punctuation) by Jon Bone.