# Domostroy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Domostroy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Domostroy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domostroy > Source revision: 1346233103 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 16th-century Russian set of household rules This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Domostroy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A 17th-century merchant family, painting by [Andrei Ryabushkin](/source/Andrei_Ryabushkin) (1894) *A School in Muscovite Russia*, painting by [Boris Kustodiev](/source/Boris_Kustodiev) (1908) ***Domostroy***[a] ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Домостро́й, IPA: [\[dəmɐˈstroj\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Russian), lit. 'Domestic Order') is a 16th-century Russian set of household rules, instructions and advice pertaining to various religious, social, domestic, and family matters of Russian society. Core *Domostroy* values tended to reinforce obedience and submission to [God](/source/God_(Christianity)), the [tsar](/source/Tsar), and the [church](/source/Russian_Orthodox_Church). Key obligations were [fasting](/source/Fasting), [prayer](/source/Prayer), [icon](/source/Icon) veneration and the giving of [alms](/source/Alms). ## Description Its real author is unknown, but the most widespread version was edited by the archpriest [Silvester](/source/Sylvester_(priest)), an influential advisor to [Ivan IV of Russia](/source/Ivan_the_Terrible).[1] The text does include an [epistle](/source/Epistle) entitled "64. A Father's Epistle Instructing His Son", which was written by Silvester instructing his son, Anfim, on some of the larger themes found within the *Domostroy*. An updated edition of the *Domostroy* was compiled by [Karion Istomin](/source/Karion_Istomin) during the late 17th century. To modern researchers, it is a precious account of Russian society and the life of wealthy [boyars](/source/Boyar) and merchants. The first part of the *Domostroy* is written in [Russian Church Slavonic](/source/Russian_Church_Slavonic) and deals with religious matters, morals, and the education of children, while the second part is written almost entirely in the Russian vernacular.[2] Modern researchers tend to trace the origins of the *Domostroy* to the 15th century [Novgorod Republic](/source/Novgorod_Republic), where it could have been used as a kind of [moral](/source/Moral) [codex](/source/Codex) for the wealthy. As such, it has some quotations from the *[Book of Proverbs](/source/Book_of_Proverbs)* and other biblical texts, and from earlier Russian moral texts such as the *[Izmaragd](/source/Izmaragd)* and the [*Zlatoust*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D0%97%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82_(%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA)&action=edit&redlink=1) [[ru](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82_(%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA))], and from some western texts such as the *Book of Christian Teachings* (Czech) by [Tomáš Štítný ze Štítného](/source/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_%C5%A0t%C3%ADtn%C3%BD_ze_%C5%A0t%C3%ADtn%C3%A9ho) and *[Le Ménagier de Paris](/source/Le_M%C3%A9nagier_de_Paris)* (French). ## Structure The book is divided into 67 sections (in Silvester's version) dealing roughly with the following matters: - Religious practices - The relationship between the Russian people and the [tsar](/source/Tsar) - Organization of the family - Management of the household - Culinary ## Legacy In modern Russia, the term *Domostroy* has a pejorative meaning. It is used in such classic texts as [Herzen](/source/Alexander_Herzen)'s *My Past and Thoughts* and [Turgenev](/source/Turgenev)'s *Fathers and Sons* to refer to a [traditionalist](/source/Tradition) way of life associated with [patriarchal](/source/Patriarchal) tyranny, as exemplified by the following quotations: "A wife which is good, laborious, and silent is a crown to her husband." "Don't pity a youngling while beating him: if you punish him with a rod, he will not die, but become healthier." ## See also - [Medieval cuisine](/source/Medieval_cuisine) - [Patriarchy](/source/Patriarchy) ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Also [transliterated](/source/Romanization_of_Russian) as ***Domostroi*** ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Carolyn Johnston Pouncey, *The "Domostroi": Rules for Russian Households in the Time of Ivan the Terrible*, p37 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8014-9689-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8014-9689-6) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Herring, Susan C.; Reenen, Pieter van; Schøsler, Lene (2000). *Textual parameters in older languages*. Amsterdam Philadelphia [Pa.]: J. Benjamins. p. 337. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9027237026](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9027237026). ## Bibliography - **Carolyn Johnston Pouncy: The "Domostroi" : rules for Russian households in the time of Ivan the Terrible, Ithaca 1994.** --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Domostroy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domostroy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domostroy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.