It is relatively easy to learn about how a long dead king ruled, or a battle was fought. A simple excavation of a battlefield, or the perusal of any angry politicians’ letters will tell us what we need to know. From The Domostroi we can learn a lot. For example The Domostroi can show us both the size and the structure of ancient households. We discovered that many powerful Russians lived in huge homes that could hold two hundred people. And that the people inside (especially the rich) lived very segregated lives. It appears that the women in Russian household were required to live almost entirely in groups of other women. It is fair to assume that after a certain age a women’s life would be completely influenced and directed by other women, specifically the match maker. In the last chapter of The Domostroi, marriage is discusses, that chapter brings this idea of grandeur and segregation to the extreme. The wedding ritual for noble families is three days long. The fact that the rituall is so large and complex would suggest that the Russian culture has been cultivating it for centuries unhindered by foreign interference. It is only through years of development that a society can incorporate enough material from other cultures to get that extensive.

PS. (this reminds me of the weeding ceremonies in Game of Thrones, the beeding ceremonies are the same)