During times Ancient Rus' There was a marriage custom when the senior boyar “friend” of the groom was present on the first wedding night in the newlyweds’ bedroom. If the groom could not cope with his duties, the senior boyar had to replace him. At first, the bride was obliged to do whatever he wanted in front of the groom. After which the boyar retired with the bride and after a few hours, when everything was done, he returned her to the groom to fulfill his marital duty. This custom was practiced before the advent of Christianity in Rus'.
If the Slavic groom discovered that his new wife was a virgin, he could reject her in anger, because this meant that no one liked the poor thing before the wedding - which means she was spoiled.
Purity among the ancient Slavs
It had absolutely no value. As soon as girls entered puberty, they took off their children's shirts and put on a ponyova - a kind of loincloth, a sign of readiness to enter into active life. sex life. From that moment on, the girl turned into a harlot. But not in the sense that we are used to, but in the sense that she could wander, wander, look for a suitable groom. Moreover, the more partners the future bride had, the higher she was valued, the more she knew and was able to do so. As for pregnancy, everything was under control here too, the Slavs were well versed in herbs and knew such reliable contraceptives that we had never even dreamed of. Sexually transmitted infections also did not exist, just as there was no condemnation. So unmarried girls they could happily give themselves to the guy they liked in any place convenient for this.
Wedding. If a foreign traveler or Christian chronicler needed to imagine our ancestors at their worst
form, it was necessary to describe the wildest wedding ceremonies. Like a huge guy with blond hair and with skin the color of copper (a literal description of a typical Slavic appearance) with a wolf skin thrown over his back, he rushed into the crowd of girls grazing in the meadow, and grabbed the most attractive one, after which he disappeared along with the prey thrown over his mighty shoulder. The rest, not at all surprised, continued to play tricks in the meadow, collect herbs, light fires and weave wreaths. Perhaps this is what happened. However, most likely, the thief agreed in advance with the victim at one of the previous “parties”, and such wild marriages were carried out by mutual consent. However, kidnapping a bride is cool, spectacular and impressive. Therefore, they were stolen, and they played along, turning pale with happiness.
These are rituals, and the marriages themselves took place at just such parties - games, where harlots from different villages (by the way, they were 12-14 years old) wandered around, tracking down grooms, and the grooms looked at the brides during the dances, appreciating their passion and external data. At such games, mentioned by Nestor the Chronicler and in the Tale of Bygone Years, young men and girls from different villages danced in forest clearings, flirting with each other, partially exposing themselves, exchanging glances and making passionate movements with their bodies. Couples who really liked each other retired to indulge in love and exchange rings, agreeing on the next meeting, which could also turn out to be a wedding.
Sex traditions of Slavic Rus'
This played into the hands of the youth.
When a young wife moved to her husband’s house, her relatives saw her off with so-called Soromnitsa songs, in which they described in detail her future wedding night and, in general, everything that awaited her in bed with her husband. Such songs were sung in Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian villages until the end of the 19th century, and their content was so indecent that poor monks refused to transmit their text in chronicles, limiting themselves only, like Nestor, to phrases like “they will dishonor themselves before their fathers.”
In Rus', it was customary for young people to marry early “so as not to be spoiled.” It happened that the groom's age was from 12 to 13 years. When getting married early, it was completely natural that the bride and groom did not know each other before marriage. In general, the moral concepts of that time did not allow young people of both sexes to see each other and negotiate with each other. The groom did not even dare to say that he wanted to get married; everything was decided by his relatives.
Usually, the fathers and mothers of the groom personally chose the girl, informing their sons about this when the wedding was already being prepared.
But sometimes, the first step began on the part of the bride’s parents. Wanting to sell their daughter, the parents sent a person close to them to the groom as a matchmaker; if the groom's parents agreed, then they proceeded to matchmaking in the usual manner. She looked to see if the bride was good-looking, smart, “whether she was speechless and full of speech in everything.” There were cases that if the daughter was not beautiful, then another or even a maid was brought instead. The groom himself could not see the bride before the wedding. If the deception with the bride was subsequently discovered, the marriage could be dissolved, but this happened very rarely.
Sometimes the groom insisted on seeing the bride himself; if they valued the groom, they could allow it, but then it was almost impossible for him to get away with it. After the review, a conspiracy took place - the first part of the marriage celebration or the introduction to the celebration. The arranged day was appointed by the bride's parents. The parents sat opposite each other and were silent for several minutes, as was customary. An agreement was drawn up, a series of notes were written, which indicated that at such and such a time the wedding would take place, and the bride would have such a dowry.
There has always been a dowry an important condition Russian wedding, it included: bed, dresses, household utensils and decorations, people, money, real estate. Nothing was required from the groom. This conspiracy had legal significance. If the bride was from a poor family and could not bring a dowry into the house, then the groom himself “made the dowry” or transferred a certain amount of money to the bride’s parents - old custom did not allow taking a bride without a dowry.
On the morning of the celebration (sometimes the day before), the bride's matchmaker went to the groom's house to prepare the wedding bed. There was a belief that dashing sorcerers and witches could bring damage and drive evil spirits into the house where the wedding was being held. Done against this different means. The hay barn, often unheated, was chosen as the wedding room. Chests of grain and barrels were brought to the hay barn.
Before the wedding, guests and newlyweds were invited to the table, but even there, sitting next to them, the future husband did not see the bride’s face - she was wearing a thick veil - a prototype of today’s veil. Usually, after 4-5 changes of dishes, the imprisoned father, turning to the bride’s own father, asked permission to lead the newlyweds “scratching and twisting,” i.e. to marry. After the wedding, a feast was organized again, the bride was already unveiled, the maiden crown was replaced with a “woman’s headdress” - a warrior, and she had to cry, and the women and girls sang sad songs. Before leaving the wedding feast, the husband, as a sign of his power, struck his future life partner on the back with a whip received from his father-in-law. This symbolized the young woman's transition from one "master" to another. After this, at the appointed time, the young husband took his betrothed to the hay barn. The newlyweds were accompanied by all the guests, and if someone accidentally crossed the path of the “wedding train,” they could end up under the saber of the manger leading the procession.
Left alone, the newlyweds had to perform another ancient custom: between the bride and groom, the ritual of taking off shoes took place, a very ancient ritual that came down to the Russians from the times of paganism. It consisted in the fact that the wife, as a sign of submission, had to take off her husband’s boots. There was a coin in one of the boots. If she managed to take off the boot that had the coin in it first, it meant that she would be happy, otherwise it meant that she would have to please her husband and take off her shoes. Another extant version of the ritual of taking off a spouse’s shoes, which existed in Siberia and beyond the Urals, is the wife washing her husband’s feet. When the newlyweds were in the hay barn and the guests were feasting in the room, the manger walked around the hay barn with his weapon drawn to protect against any recklessness. After some time, he inquired about the health of the groom, if he answered that he was in good health, this meant that a good deed had been accomplished, the manger told this to the guests and they went to feed the young people.
After the wedding, festivities continued for several days (sometimes up to a month, depending on the wealth of the families and local customs).
XVI-XIX centuries
In the Russian state, until the 17th century, marriage and family relations were built and regulated on the basis of Domostroy. There were no fundamental documents or decrees regulating this aspect of the life of the population. The era of Peter's reign marked the beginning of the development of family law as one of the components of the general legal structure of the state.
One of the first decrees proclaimed the principle of voluntary marriage. According to this decree, relatives of persons entering into marriage were required to take an oath that they did not force the bride and groom to marry. In 1714, Tsar Peter tried to introduce an educational qualification for nobles marrying, requiring at the wedding a certificate of knowledge of arithmetic and geometry. And in 1722, this idea was expressed in the form of a Charter, the essence of which was that it was forbidden to marry “fools who are not fit for science or service.” From the same year, all parish priests are required to register all acts of civil status.
In the mid-40s. In the same century, the Decree of the Synod prohibited marriages of persons over 80 years of age. “Marriage was ordained by God for the continuation of the human race, which is something we desperately hope for from someone over 80.” Since 1775, “family legislation” has been supplemented with new rules. Since 1775, marriage could only take place in the parish church of one of the parties to be married. The wedding was preceded by a mandatory announcement. The marriage took place in the personal presence of the bride and groom. An exception was made only for members of the imperial family marrying foreign princesses. The age for marriage was set at 18 for men and 16 for women.
To get married, it was necessary to obtain parental consent, regardless of the age of the bride and groom. A woman has the opportunity to go to court to demand protection from abuse.
The personal rights and obligations of spouses are established by law, and attempts are made to regulate the internal relations of spouses in marriage. All official documents relating to family and marriage relations are included in the code of civil laws. Here, for example, is what Articles 106 and 107 say: “A husband is obliged to love his wife as if he were his own body, to live in harmony with her, to respect, protect, excuse her absence and alleviate her infirmities,” “a wife is obliged to obey her husband as the head of the family , to remain in love and unlimited obedience towards him, to show him every kind of pleasure and affection as the mistress of the house.” The place of residence of the spouses is determined by the place of residence of the husband, she is obliged to follow him, otherwise she could be forcibly placed in her husband’s house.
Early 20th century
In pre-revolutionary Russia there was no uniform “family code” for persons of all religions. Issues of marriage and civil registration were the responsibility of the church. Therefore, persons of different religions are subject to different laws depending on the precepts of their religion. Couples belonging to different faiths required permission from the highest officials of the state and the church to which they belonged to marry. In most cases, the spouses accepted the same faith.
After the revolution of 1917, a new stage in the development of family legislation began. On December 18, 1917, a decree “On civil marriage, children and the introduction of civil deed books will take place” was issued. According to this decree, the only form of marriage for all Russian citizens, regardless of religion, was civil marriage in government agencies. A marriage concluded according to a religious rite after the adoption of the decree did not give rise to legal consequences. Marriages concluded in church form before the adoption of the decree retained legal force, and they did not need to be re-registered. The conditions for marriage have become much easier. It was enough to reach the age of marriage: 16 years for women and 18 years for men and the mutual consent of the future spouses.
The following circumstances were recognized as obstacles to marriage: the presence of mental illness in one of the spouses, the condition of the bride and groom in the prohibited degrees of kinship (marriages between ascending and descending relatives, siblings were prohibited), as well as the presence of another undissolved marriage.
The second most important provision contained in this decree was the equalization of the rights of legitimate and illegitimate children. (In pre-revolutionary Russia, often recognized illegitimate children of noble parents did not have the right to bear the surname of their real father, but only its shortened version - one example is Ivan Betsky, a famous figure of Catherine's times - the illegitimate son of Prince Trubetskoy). In addition, in accordance with the decree, it was possible to establish paternity in court.
At the same time, the decree “On Divorce” was adopted. Based on this decree, divorce cases were removed from the jurisdiction of church courts. Divorce cases initiated by a spouse's unilateral application were transferred to the jurisdiction of local courts. Before the revolution, obtaining permission to divorce required permission from the Synod (for married couples who professed Orthodoxy) or the Pope (for Catholics). Divorce was not welcomed by the church and society. So, for example, church repentance and a ban on subsequent marriages were imposed on the divorced spouse who was found guilty.
On October 22, 1918, the first “Code of Laws on Civil Status, Marriage, Family and Guardianship Law” was adopted. It is established by law that a civil (secular) marriage registered in the registry office gives rise to the rights and obligations of the spouses. The marriage age remained the same: 16 and 18 years. The list of obstacles to the brother’s imprisonment was expanded compared to that provided for by the decree of 1917. Conditions in another undissolved marriage were now also considered as an obstacle. A clear distinction was made between divorce, which terminates the marriage for the future, and annulment, which is retroactive and annuls the marriage from the moment it was concluded. The following circumstances were considered grounds for declaring a marriage invalid: marriage with a person under marriageable age; lack of consent to marriage of one of the spouses; marriage between persons, one of whom is in another undissolved marriage; the presence of prohibited degrees of relationship: marriage with a legally incompetent person. Marriage was declared invalid in court.
According to this code, the choice of a common surname, or a double one, was made by the spouses themselves, whereas before the revolution, the adoption of a double surname or the wife’s surname required the highest permission. The divorce procedure has become even simpler. As before, with the mutual consent of the spouses, the divorce was carried out by the registry office. Cases of divorce at the request of one of the spouses were considered as indisputable by a single judge without the participation of assessors. If both spouses failed to appear, the case was heard in absentia. No evidence of family breakdown was required from those divorcing.
Legitimate and illegitimate children have equal rights in relation to their parents and their relatives. The mother of a child born out of wedlock had the right, no later than three months before the release of the burden, to file an application to establish paternity. The person indicated by the mother could challenge his paternity in court within two weeks. If the mother's statement was not disputed, paternity was declared established.
II half of the 20th century
In 1923, the development of a new code began. The project was not accepted the first time, and in 1925 it was put up for public discussion, and a new code of laws on family and marriage was introduced. A year later he was accepted. The most significant innovation of this Code was to give legal significance to de facto marital relations. The marriage registration was not cancelled, but the actual marital relations were in many ways equivalent to a registered marriage. However, there was no complete equality between them, but later arbitrage practice equalized them. The Code established a single marriage age for men and women - 18 years.
The divorce in court was completely canceled. The marriage was dissolved by the registry office, and without calling the second spouse, he was only informed of the fact of divorce.
The record of the father of an illegitimate child was made at the request of the mother, submitted after the birth of the child. No evidence was required from her. The father was only informed about such a recording and given the right to appeal it in court within one year.
In 1944, unexpectedly regressive decrees were adopted: prohibiting the establishment of paternity of children born out of wedlock and recognizing marriage as existing only for registered couples, and not those actually married, and therefore such couples were required to immediately register.
The divorce procedure was complicated: from now on, a marriage was dissolved only if the court recognized the need for its termination. The divorce procedure itself has become more complex. An application for divorce, indicating the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage, was submitted to the people's court. After this, an announcement about the initiation of divorce proceedings was published in the local newspaper. The People's Court considered the case and took measures to reconcile the spouses.
In 1968, the all-Union family law act “Fundamentals of legislation on marriage and family of the USSR and republics” was adopted for the first time. In general, the discrepancy between the legislation of individual republics was not too significant.
Since 1969, the Code on Marriage and Family of the RSFSR has been adopted. In accordance with this code, only registered marriages were recognized.
The actual marriage still did not give rise to any legal consequences. The grounds for divorce were considered to be irreparable breakdown of the family. If the spouses did not have minor children or disputes over property, divorce by mutual consent was carried out in the registry office.
Significant changes were made in 1995 to legal regulation adoption. However, by introducing individual changes to the 1969 Code of Laws, it was impossible to carry out the necessary reform of family legislation. In this regard, in 1994 State Duma RF and a working group was created to prepare a new Family Code, which was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on December 8, 1995 and came into force on March 1, 1996.
Irina Khomchenkova, source edem.ru
You can tell whether a girl is married or not by looking at the ring or through a page on a social network. Previously distinctive features there was much more. We will tell you how you could easily and quickly find out the status of an unknown girl in Rus'.
By headdress
In Rus', a headdress was not only protection from the sun, cold and everything else, but also served as an indicator of status. Unmarried girls could walk bareheaded or with a headdress that left the top of their head exposed (sometimes even in church). Since everything about the girl was hidden by multi-layered clothes, the open “crown” was designed to emphasize her beauty, to the delight of the good fellows. After the girl got married, her head was covered with women's clothing. In the 10th-11th centuries, a married woman’s dress was called a “warrior” and resembled a head towel. In the XV-XVI centuries. women began to wear “ubrus” - an embroidered white or red cloth, the ends of which were richly decorated with pearls and descended to the shoulders, chest and back.
Down the line
Crowns in Rus' were worn exclusively by girls, so the crown is a symbol of girlhood. The crown was a hoop made of leather or birch bark, covered with fabric and richly decorated (with beads, bones, plates, embroidery, river pearls and stones). Sometimes the crown could have three or four teeth and a removable front part, which was called the ochele.
When getting married, the girl said goodbye to her crown or it was kidnapped by the groom. The word “crown” itself comes from the Russian “venit”, that is, “to engage in the harvest.” The harvest is the eternal concern of grain growers, and therefore the person getting married received a helper “for the harvest” (“for the harvest”), for which he had to pay a ransom to the parents, since they were deprived of their helper. Hence the participation of the wreath in the wedding ceremony.
By earrings
In Rus' there was a tradition associated with wearing earrings: for girls and married women they differed in shape and size. The daughter received her first earrings from her father as a gift at the age of five; women kept these earrings all their lives. Unmarried women wore elongated earrings of a simple shape, with virtually no decoration. A married woman's earrings were more expensive, more complex, and richer in status.
Along the spit
As soon as a girl in Rus' reached a certain age, she began to wear a strictly defined hairstyle - a braid, usually woven from three strands. The first braid is a new adult life. Along with the scythe, there was another one, not a child's, but women's clothing. The braid, a girl's beauty, was considered the main external advantage of a girl. Good ones, Thick hair were highly valued because they spoke of strength and health. Those who were unable to grow a thick braid resorted to vile deception - they wove hair from ponytails. If a girl wore one braid, it meant that she was “actively searching.” If a ribbon appeared in a girl’s braid, then the girl’s status meant “marriageable.” As soon as she had a fiancé, and had already received a blessing for marriage from her parents, then instead of one ribbon, two appeared, and they were woven not from the base of the braid, but from its middle. This was a signal to the other suitors that their further efforts were in vain, since the girl and her family had already decided on a candidate for husband. On special occasions, girls of marriageable age wore their hair loose. The girl walked to communion in church, to a holiday, or down the aisle as a “cosmach.” In such cases, hair perm was encouraged in wealthy families. Before the wedding, friends wept and unraveled the bride's hair, and she said goodbye to her usual hairstyle as a symbol of carefree girlhood. Upon marriage, the girl had two braids braided, which were then placed around her head like a crown - a hint of her new, taller family status. A covered head is a document about marriage. Now no one except her husband could see her hair and remove her headdress. If a girl cut her braid on her own, then most likely she was mourning her deceased groom, and cutting her hair was for her an expression of deep grief and reluctance to get married.
By ornament and color of clothing
The pattern on clothing could tell a lot about its owner. For example, in the Vologda region, a tree was depicted on the shirts of pregnant women. Chickens were embroidered on the clothes of married women, and white swans were embroidered on the clothes of unmarried girls. Sundress of blue color worn by unmarried girls preparing for a wedding or old ladies. But, for example, a red sundress was worn by those who had just gotten married. The more time passed after the wedding, the less red the woman used in her clothes. What did the horned frog mean in the apron design? Horns are a symbol of fertility, confirmation that this girl can give birth. And the frog is a symbol of a woman in labor, the state into which every self-respecting girl of that time strived to get. So, the horned frog indicated that in front of you is a girl who wants her first child.
Up the skirt
basis women's suit was a shirt. It differed from a man's only in length - up to the feet. But walking around in just a shirt was considered indecent - thicker clothes were worn over it. Unmarried girls wore a cuff - a canvas rectangular piece of fabric, folded in half and with a hole on the fold for the head. The cuff was not sewn on the sides; it was shorter than the shirt and was worn over it. The cuff was always belted. Married women They wore a paneva (or ponka) over the shirt - a skirt, not sewn, but wrapped around the figure and secured around the waist with a cord - a gasket. Where is the best place to hide? - for the hashish! - this is from then on. For the first time, ponka was worn on the wedding day or immediately after. The girl symbolically jumped from the bench into the paneva - this symbolized her consent to the marriage. It was tied by parents or brother. If a girl didn’t get married, she wore a cuff all her life and couldn’t put on a paneva.
By the wedding ring
If it was possible to get close enough to a woman to see if she had a ring on her finger, then they used this proven method. For Orthodox Christians, the wedding ring was placed on the ring finger of the right hand. It was sleek and simple, classic.
In Russian Orthodox Church There is a custom during the betrothal ceremony for the groom to dress Golden ring, and the bride - silver. Gold is a symbol of the sun, and silver carries the feminine lunar energy, which the woman lovingly passed on to her husband.
Nowadays, relationships where a man younger woman, is not uncommon, although society, as a rule, does not look at it very positively. What was the situation with this in Rus' in the old days?
Why were early marriages accepted in Rus'?
In Ancient Rus', the age of marriage was determined based on the norms of Byzantine law and corresponded to 15 years for boys and 13 for girls. However, these norms were often violated, especially when it came to people of noble origin. Thus, it is known that Prince Yuri Dolgoruky married an 11-year-old girl. Novgorod-Seversky Prince Igor Svyatoslavich married his son Svyatoslav at the age of 11. Prince Vladimir Vsevolod Yurievich married his son Konstantin at the age of 9.
Another Vladimir prince, Mikhail Yuryevich, married off his daughter Elena at the age of three. The daughters of the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the Suzdal prince Vsevolod the Big Nest were married at the age of 8. Chernigov Prince Rostislav Mikhailovich arranged the marriage of his daughter Agrafena at the age of 9.
Such unnaturally early marriages took place primarily for political reasons. This was due to the need to strengthen relations with one or another noble neighbor in order to obtain economic and political benefits. Married life married children began to lead only when they reached puberty.
It was not always the case that the husband and wife were the same age, or the husband was older than the wife. If political interests required this, then the age difference was overlooked. Thus, Peter I was three years younger than his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina. At the time of the marriage, he was 16 years old and she was 19. The marriage was arranged by Peter’s mother, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, née Naryshkina.
Peculiarities of peasant marriage
In 1830, Emperor Nicholas I issued a decree according to which the marriageable age was set at 16 for girls and at 18 for boys. In the second half of the 19th century, most Russian girls got married at 17-20 years old, boys - at 19-21 years old. In the peasant environment, they tried not to delay marriage when the children “came of age.” They were afraid that, as he grew older, the guy would leave his parents’ will and bring an unwanted wife into the house. A young half-child daughter-in-law was also more desirable than an older girl; it was easier to accustom her to obedience in her husband’s family.
In peasant families, they tried to ensure that the age difference between young people did not exceed two to three years. Marriages unequal in age were undesirable primarily because of the likelihood of early widowhood: “It is better to burn seven times than to be widowed once.”
Marriages where the husband was 10-15 or more years older than his wife were comparatively rare among the peasantry and were condemned. But in cases where the wife was several years older than her husband, they were treated quite loyally. The fact is that the wife was required to master certain household skills, as a result of which girls sometimes stayed in the parental home. The young woman was seen primarily as a worker.
Probably everyone remembers perfectly well the lines from Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”, where the nanny tells Tatyana Larina:
"My Vanya
Was younger than me, my light,
And I was thirteen years old.”
Apparently, the future husband’s family simply did not have enough workers. How else can we explain that in Vanya’s case they didn’t even wait until the previously established age of 15?
Our days: for love and for convenience
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the age of marriage increased, as universal conscription was introduced in 1874. All suitable for military service men were required to take it upon reaching 21 years of age. The service lasted from 3 to 6 years. Accordingly, a young man could afford to get married only at the age of 24-27 years. In this regard, women began to marry later.
Life expectancy gradually increased, and life became less difficult. Therefore, the need for early marriages and working wives was no longer so acute. This is how we came to today's norm, when marriages are concluded either in accordance with feelings or financial calculations, and age differences are looked at somewhat differently than hundreds of years ago.
Previously, Rus' had its own canons of beauty and health, so not every girl could get married. Which girls in Rus' did suitors avoid?
One of the key roles in matchmaking was played by matchmakers, since it was they who looked closely at the girls in the village and determined whether she was suitable for family life or not. They watched how hardworking the girl was, assessed her beauty, habits, and obedience to her parents. An important role was played by the age of the applicant, as well as her external data.
For example, it was not customary to marry thin girls. Why?
First of all, they were afraid to take a “yalitsa,” that is, a barren girl. It was believed that thin girls would not be able to get pregnant or bear a child. Thin girls often have a narrow pelvis, so in ancient times they often died during childbirth, or the child died. Thinness was also considered to be painful; for example, it could be a sign of tuberculosis or consumption.
In addition, the thin girl could not carry the entire household on herself. Russian women not only spun at the window in the evenings, but also worked in the fields, did housework, in the garden, trimmed the whole family, took care of the children, and this requires a lot of strength and energy, which the thin ones simply do not have.
It was also believed that if a girl is thin, it means she is from a poor family, and wealthy peasants wanted to see only equals in their family, so as not to have parasites. Thinness was considered a sign of ugliness and degeneration by our ancestors.
Attitudes towards virginity
The issue of virginity was of little concern to anyone. If a girl had a child before marriage, this meant that she was fit to continue the family of her future husband, since she had already coped with her main responsibility - to give birth to children.Appearance Features
The presence of even a small scratch, sore, or even a runny nose could jeopardize the girl’s future marriage. At best, the bride's family was able to get rid of their daughter by increasing the dowry. If a girl had serious illnesses or injuries, she was considered defective. They also did not want to marry girls who had any marks on their bodies - large birthmarks, moles, because they were considered serious health defects. In this regard, they tried not to show the bride to anyone and to heal all scratches and bruises just before the wedding.Brides were carefully guarded before the wedding also because there were virtues who tried to interfere with the wedding. For example, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich wanted to marry the poor noblewoman Maria, but his mother was not happy with this candidacy. When the wedding was supposed to take place, the bride fell ill, the cause of the disease was simple - she was poisoned by cakes with stale whipped cream, which Mikhail Fedorovich’s mother slipped to her. Although her health was fine, this fact became the reason for the termination of the engagement. At that time, everything was used - both witchcraft conspiracies and women's tricks.
