An Overview of Family Law
Among the Pre-Christian Slavic Tribes



In the year 988AD, the introduction of Orthodox Christianity to the Slavonic races of Russia united these diverse groups under a single authority and a new and radically different set of social mores and family customs. Although there was no organized code of laws prior to the Pravda Russkaya, which was compiled during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1015-1054), customary law and tradition dictated many aspects of life. Yaroslav's Pravda draws primarily on the customs of the time in establishing a code of moral conduct and setting penalties for violation of the law. As regards the family, however, the Pravda tells us very little save that "If a man kills a man: the brother is to avenge his brother, or the father, or the son; or the son of the brother, or the son of the sister," and so on.

The Russian Primary Chronicle, the first recorded history of early Russia and therefore our first opportunity to glimpse the composition of the typical Russian family through the eyes of a native author, would argue that the change from paganism to Orthodoxy came swiftly, that the pagan tribes welcomed the change and embraced the new set of rules and moral imperatives instantly and with open arms. However, the source of the Primary Chronicle must be considered. Written in the twelfth century by Russian monks, the historical text naturally takes a decidedly pro-Christian attitude, relating events through the slanted and biased scope of the religion of its authors, in spite of whatever the prevailing beliefs, practices and customs of the common Russian family might have been in the first centuries of the Orthodox state.

Only much later would objective studies begin. Starting near the close of the eighteenth century, a series of ethnologists, anthropologists and other social scientists would begin to examine and analyze the question. Drawing on the various charters, statutes and ordinances issued by Russian princes, most of them issued for the benefit of the young Russian Orthodox Church, as very few of the secular decrees survived the centuries, a picture began to form. The writings even of these early scientists must be read carefully, however. Science itself was a young institution at the time, often influenced by the personal religious beliefs of the scientist and any conclusion must be questioned based on the fact that scientific procedure, where it was known, was often applied somewhat arbitrarily.

To begin to examine objectively the customary family law among the loosely knit principalities and Slavonic tribes of the pre-Christian era, we must first disregard any modern prejudices we may have regarding the law and the definition of what constitutes a family as irrelevant. If we are to use words such as 'husband,' 'wife,' 'marriage,' or even 'family' we must keep in mind that the definition of those words in this context is not the definition to which we are accustomed. To analyze or judge a society as yet untouched by Christian thought using any Biblical model of propriety is at best unfair to the society being analyzed and at worst a wasteful exercise in futility that produces a prejudicial and unbalanced view of history. Yet the vast majority of texts, both those of ancient times written by early Christian authorities and the more modern renditions which rely heavily on the older models for confirmation of facts, present just this view. Only when that filter is removed can we begin to understand, and to learn from, this culturally heterogeneous historical epoch.

In exploring and analyzing the legal history of any group wherein a written and preserved code of laws does not exist, as is true among the pre-Christian Slavonic races, perhaps the most significant but under-studied source of information lies in the folklore of the common people. Whereas early literature and recorded history, due solely to the fact that it was almost uniformly produced by upper-class individuals, generally far removed from their less fortunate contemporaries, with access to the education required to record their history, by necessity speaks of and to the same upper, educated classes, the folklore of the common people, passed along through the generations as an oral tradition, takes on the moral character and individual personality of the storytellers. Here, yet again, care must be given to analysis of these stories. Their origin must be considered if we intend to use them in a study of pre-Christian society, as through time and tellings, they have undoubtedly taken on the characteristics of the Christian societies they have passed through on their way to us. However, once this layer is removed, they can provide a rich and bountiful source on the laws and customs of earlier times.

There is no simple way to sum up the family law and customs of the Slavonic races of Russia, no single sentence that would suffice to describe their culture. The duties and responsibilities of individual members of the household varied widely from one tribe to the next. Their society was patriarchal in one area, matriarchal in another. Endogamy was practiced by some groups, but frowned upon by others. The institution of marriage as we know it today in the sense of a constant union between a man and a woman existed, but so did contractual marriage, the term of which might be no more than a single night, as well as marriage by capture or purchase and communal marriage in which all members of the household were participants.

Among the Eastern Slavs, whose loosely allied principalities have been called the beginning of the Russian State, the modern concept of marriage as a permanent union of husband and wife was not a common institution, practiced only among the Polian tribe, whose community was established along the banks of the Dnieper. According to the Chronicle of Nestor, as cited by Maxime Kovalevsky in an 1891 lecture, "The Polians had the customs of their fathers, customs mild and peaceful; … Amongst them the bridegroom did not go to seek his bride; she was taken to him in the evening, and the following morning they brought what was given for her." This practice was known in ancient texts as veno. Generally, the payment was made to the father of the woman or to some other representative who served as the head of the family and spent in such a way as to be useful to her, becoming part or all of the dowry she would take with her as she joined the husband's family. This practice of purchasing a woman from her family gradually gained precedence throughout the Slavonic world after the arrival of Orthodoxy, though it was by no means universal as the forerunner to the dowry practice of later centuries. Among several groups in the area of Vladimir, Moscow, Samara and others, there is mention of the veno, while no mention is made of dowry. In the pre-Christian era, however, the custom as a whole was unique to the Polian tribe.

Far more common was 'marriage by capture,' a phrase coined by ethnologists and a misnomer in many cases. The pervading custom at some point in the social development of all but a handful of the Slavonic races, these 'marriages' took on many forms. Among the Radimich, Viatich and Sever tribes the capture of a prospective bride was most often ritualistic in nature, the 'abduction' taking place only after representatives of both families had met and reached an agreement that such should take place. The arrangement, at least in spirit, was similar to the Polian practices. The 'marriage' was far less permanent, and could be dissolved in much the same way it was formed, by agreement between the representatives of the parties involved.

Conversely, among the Drevlian tribe no such prior arrangement was required nor covenant implied. On the subject of Drevlian customs, Kovalevsky quotes an unidentified source that "They lived in forests, like other wild animals… Marriages were unknown to them, but games were held in the outskirts of villages; they met at these games for dancing and every kind of diabolical amusement, and there they captured their wives…"

Examples in folklore survive, but often in veiled form. Whether in harsh judgment of the practice or simply as an outgrowth of changing social mores as the story was passed through the generations, the women in these stories are often captured not by men, but by animals who take them as wives;

…there lived a merchant who had three daughters. … The youngest daughter… dreamed that she would marry a goat. Her father was frightened and forbade his youngest daughter to go out even on the porch. But one day she disobeyed and did go out, and a goat seized her on his tall horns and carried her away beyond the steep mountains.

In another example;

In a certain village there lived a wealthy peasant and his wife. One day the wife went to the forest for mushrooms, lost her way, and stumbled into a bear's den. The bear kept her with him, and after some time, a long time or a short time, she had a son by him.

The coexistence of patriarchal and matriarchal social structures, among and even within the various tribes, adds yet another element to the apparent social confusion inherent in the customs of pre-Christian Russia. The autonomy of women - something that would disappear for many centuries with the advent of Orthodoxy - was the natural and unquestioned way of life. It was at least as common among all of these tribes for the representative of the woman to initiate marriage or contract negotiations. In such cases, it was not uncommon for the man to then be taken into the woman's household.

Many instances of matriarchal selection survive in the folklore of Russia. In virtually every such example, the woman involved is the daughter of a king or nobleman, which may well be the result of later influence on the ancient takes. It is, however, consistent with custom, in that it was the wealthier or more powerful family that initiated the proceedings. The tale of the 'Maiden Tsar,' in which the title character chooses the son of a merchant as her husband, serves as an excellent example;

One day Ivan went with his tutor to fish in the sea on a small raft; suddenly they saw thirty ships making toward them. On these ships sailed the Maiden Tsar with thirty other maidens, all her foster sisters. When the ships came close to the raft, all thirty of them dropped anchor. Ivan and his tutor were invited aboard the best ship, where the Maiden Tsar and her thirty foster sisters received them; she told Ivan that she loved him passionately and had come from afar to see him. So they were betrothed.

It is interesting to note that all of these tribes occupied a comparatively small geographic area in what is now Ukraine. As a result, it was not uncommon for these groups to encounter one another, to fight amongst themselves, and to intermarry. Contractual marriage, elements of which can be seen in the customs of of all of the tribes thus far mentioned - even among the Drevlians, where presence at their festivals would serve as implied consent - seems to be the single social factor which united these groups. Though the terms of the 'contracts' varied widely, from the permanent union of a Polian husband and wife to the short duration of Drevlian unions, the concept of the 'contract' - or consent, either implied or negotiated through representatives of the parties involved - was likely in place as a means to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.

It should come as no surprise, in such a chaotic social atmosphere where definitions of marriage and relations between men and women varied so widely among groups so closely associated, that virginity and chastity were not regarded as particularly advantageous in seeking or claiming a mate. In fact, among the patriarchal tribes and families, preference was given to prospective wives or mates who had already successfully given birth.

Monogamy, except in the Polian culture of the time, was not the norm. In the communal households in which the vast majority of the population lived, sexual relations between father and daughter-in-law, mother and son-in-law, assorted uncles, aunts, even between brother and sister were perfectly acceptable. Even before the introduction of Orthodoxy, at least according to the historical texts available for study, this endogamous state of the family was on the decline. Once again, however, the source of such texts must be considered and questioned, as there remains evidence of marriage between blood relations as late as mid-nineteenth century in some villages in the district of Onega and in parts of the Government of Archangel.

History is related by scholars, and the early scholars who recorded the history of the Slavic tribes were Orthodox monks, their agenda to show their church and their religion in a favorable light and their views colored by the experience of an education within that same institution. There remains, however, evidence, contrary to the claim of The Russian Primary Chronicle that the entire population of Russia was converted to Orthodoxy in a single day in 988AD, that paganism and the old customs of the early tribes remained a prevailing influence as late as the time of Ivan the Terrible and had not been completely vanquished, even by the turn of the 20th century.

In the states of Pskov and Novgorod in the early 1500's there were recorded complaints from the clergy of annual gatherings, the purpose of which was "the corruption of young women and girls." Some half a century later, an assembly convened in Moscow under the direction of Ivan the Terrible compiled an ecclesiastical code intended to combat every vestige of paganism that remained, in particular these yearly festivals, which according to this code involved "the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes." Kovalevsky, in his 1891 lecture "The Matrimonial Customs and Usages of the Russian People, and the Light They Throw on the Evolution of Marriage" states, "More than once I have had an opportunity of being present at these nightly meetings, held at the end of June, in commemoration of a heathen divinity." His further description of the events he witnessed suggest that the latest examples of these festivals were little more than secular remnants of the pagan festivals. However, their continued existence, even in that form, suggests the strength of the power the ancient customs of the Slavonic races held over the population.



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