Estate first wedding night. The right of the first wedding night: who had the rights to them and how they were fulfilled

At that time in Europe there was a custom called the “right of the first night.” Its essence is that the feudal lord had the right to deflower any girl from his possessions who got married. That is why, after marriage, the bride spent her wedding night not with her newly-made husband, but with the feudal lord. If he did not like the bride, he had the right to refuse the first night, or sell this right to the groom. In some countries this tradition continued until the end of the 19th century.

How did this tradition begin? According to one hypothesis, in this way the feudal lord confirmed his right of ownership.

According to another version, the gentleman took on this “difficult” role so that the husband would get a “proven” wife. Some historians see elements of sacrifice in this tradition (virginity was sacrificed to a deity, while the role of the deity in some countries was played by a priest).

Some peoples believed that the blood that appears during deflowering brings evil and disease. Therefore, the ritual was entrusted to a tribal elder or a sorcerer - that is, a strong person capable of resisting the machinations of evil spells. And only after this “purification” ritual was the newlywed given to the groom.

There was such a custom in Scandinavian pagan cults. After dark before first wedding night the priest of the fertility god Frey took the bride (of course, a stranger) into the forest, lit a fire and sacrificed a pig. After this, he performed the ritual, and then brought the bride to the groom. It was believed that after this mystery, a woman would be able to give birth to many healthy sons.

Among some tribes in Africa and South America, the act of deprivation of virginity was even performed by women (healers or the wife of the tribal leader).

Celebration of the first wedding night

A very interesting tradition existed in Scotland - there friends and relatives prevented the newlyweds from spending their wedding night in every possible way. They immediately did not allow the young couple to have privacy, and if they succeeded, they made noise and shouted, preventing them from enjoying each other. They could feel all the delights of their wedding night only when the guests were tired of the fun and fell asleep.

In Greece, a child must run around the marriage bed in order for healthy children to be born in the family in the future.

In Germany and France, friends and relatives did the same as in Scotland - they made noise under the windows, placed alarm clocks in the room.
In the Philippines, newlyweds were completely forbidden to have sex on their wedding night, and this is due to the fact that a child conceived on the wedding day could be born sick through alcohol consumption by the future parents.

The Chinese tradition of spending the first night differs from the European one, since here they attached great importance to the beauty of the room where such an important event was to take place. The room was decorated with flowers, red and yellow candles in the shape of dragons, the main purpose of which was to drive away evil spirits from the newlyweds. Before entering this room, the newlyweds had to drink wine from glasses that were tied together with a red ribbon.

The most exotic traditions existed in Africa. There, in some tribes, after the wedding, the husband knocked out his wife’s two front teeth on their wedding night. Thus, the husband informed his fellow tribesmen that this girl was married.

In the traditions of some countries, including Russia, the newly-made husband did not always have the seemingly legal right to be the first to share the bed with his betrothed. And most often, an intimate relationship with a stranger was far from voluntary for the bride.

Convenient custom

The right of the first night is a phenomenon, for obvious reasons, not enshrined in any legislative acts, which existed in tribal cultures or countries with a high level of social inequality. Friedrich Engels also noted that in the traditions of some peoples the groom was last person, who could claim his bride on the wedding night. Before him, his betrothed could be taken advantage of by his brothers, distant relatives and even friends. In the tribes of Africa and South America, shamans or leaders had the primary right to the bride, which was explained by the need to protect the young couple from evil spirits.

In medieval France, “Ius primae noctis” was a kind of privilege of a feudal lord who could easily afford an intimate relationship with the wife of his vassal. According to historians, such a privilege may have arisen from the German custom of Beilager, according to which large landowners had the first right to sexual contact with the fiancée of any of their subjects. In some cases, a vassal could pay compensation to his feudal lord, and then he would renounce the right to use his wife.

Scientists rightly refer to the lack of documents confirming the right of the first night in Medieval Europe, but there is still indirect evidence. For example, the surviving decision of the arbitration court in Gudalupe, Spain, dated 1486, which states that King Ferdinand II henceforth prohibits gentlemen from enjoying the privilege of spending the night with the bride of a vassal, proves that such a right was nevertheless written down somewhere.

It is curious that the right of the first night, demonstrating the arbitrariness of the feudal lords, in some cases could be beneficial to the bride. Not all girls kept their virginity before marriage, which was considered almost a prerequisite for marriage. A night spent with the gentleman relieved the bride of worries about her prematurely lost innocence.

Revived tradition

According to ethnographers, the right of the first night is a custom very common in pagan times. Slavic culture. A member of the tribal group who was more skilled in love affairs could have had sexual contact with the bride. The purpose of the custom is to save the young woman from a traumatic experience. Often the father of the future husband could take advantage of the right of the first night. Kidnapping of the bride by the groom's friends was also practiced. According to Vasily Tatishchev, the custom of giving a bride for the use of the elder of a community or village was prohibited by Princess Olga and replaced by a ransom.

In a transformed form, the right of the first night was preserved in Christian Rus'. For example, in some villages, at a wedding, each invited man had to press himself against the bride several times, simulating sexual intercourse: this supposedly allowed the bride to mentally prepare for her wedding night.

In remote Ukrainian villages, until recently, there was a widespread custom according to which the groom had to provide evidence of the deprivation of his betrothed's virginity. If he failed, he was given two more chances. If they were not successful, then his place should have been taken by the eldest relative or the most experienced of wedding guests man.

In the middle of the 18th century, as serfdom strengthened in Russia, the right of the first night received a new impetus. This most difficult time for the peasantry, which gave birth to the “Saltychs,” gave practically no hope to the serfs to resist the tyranny of the landowners. Although Russian laws made it possible to protect peasants from the abuses of soul owners, in reality the all-powerful nobility was rarely brought to justice, using money and connections.

The Russian writer and public figure Prince Alexander Vasilchikov, the owner of the exemplary Trubetchino estate, in his book “Land Ownership and Agriculture in Russia and Other European Countries” cites many facts of violence, including sexual, by landowners against serfs, when innocent peasant girls were subjected to for years they were corrupted with impunity to satisfy the lust of their master.

Arbitrariness in Russian

Unfortunately, not all landowners in Russia, like Alexander Vasilchikov, cared about their subjects. Usually, the farther away from the capitals, the more often cases of abuse of position and power were recorded. Boris Tarasov in the book “Serf Russia. The History of People's Slavery" reports that if minor nobles were subjected to violence from a more influential neighbor, then peasant girls were completely defenseless before him. Compulsion to debauchery, according to Tarasov, was akin to a separate service - a kind of “corvée for women.”

Historian Vasily Semevsky writes that some landowners, who spent most of their time abroad, came to their homeland with only one purpose - to satisfy their lust. Before the master’s arrival, the estate manager had to prepare a list of all the grown-up peasant girls, each of whom would be at the disposal of the owner for a couple of nights. When the list ended, the landowner went to another village.

Russian publicist, comes from a wealthy background noble family Alexander Koshelev described this shameful phenomenon using the example of his neighbor, the young landowner S. This gentleman, a passionate hunter of “fresh girls,” did not allow a peasant wedding to take place until he experienced the dignity of the bride. One day, the parents of one of the marriageable girls did not submit to the master’s willfulness, writes Koshelev. And then the landowner ordered the whole family to be taken to the house, chained the mother and father to the wall and forced them to watch him rape his daughter.

This case was discussed throughout the district, but the influential young libertine got away with it. However, it happened that the authorities still punished the unruly gentleman. Thus, in 1855, the court ordered Privy Councilor Kshadowski to pay a fine to the victim for using the right of the first night. Only after the abolition of serfdom did the tradition of molesting peasant brides in Russia begin to decline.

Sometimes modern people are shocked by the various customs and traditions that the inhabitants followed medieval Europe. For example, the right of the first wedding night, which belonged to the feudal lords of many countries, was also practiced in feudal Russia. For centuries, the peasants submitted to the master's authority, practically without protest. So, it's not all that simple. Why was everyone happy that it was not her groom who was depriving the girl of her virginity?

What kind of custom?

Losing virginity in medical terms is called “defloration.” According to custom, this should happen on the first wedding night. In the Middle Ages, the right to have sexual intercourse with the bride, if she and her groom belonged to the peasant class, belonged to their master. That is, a feudal landowner whose lands are cultivated by families of young people getting married.

As a rule, it was possible to avoid fulfilling one’s duty to a nobleman only by paying a kind of “compensation.” The size and form of such a tax, collected by the master from his marrying peasants, varied depending on the country and the personal whim of the illustrious count or duke.

However, some representatives of the authorities and the clergy fought against this custom, depending on their own views. For example, back in 1486, King Ferdinand II the Catholic of Spain (1452-1516) issued a decree prohibiting noble lords from using the daughters and sons of peasants against their will “for pay or without pay,” as well as sleeping with the bride on their wedding night.

Nobody restrained the French aristocracy; the right of the first night was openly used here. Even representatives of the Catholic clergy, who often owned significant plots of land, engaged in defloration of their peasant women. And some of the nobles benefited from this, offering everyone, for a reasonable fee, to take advantage of their right to the innocence of girls.

Domestic nobles also did not lag behind their Western “colleagues”. And although according to the laws Russian Empire Landowners did not have the right to the first wedding night of serf girls; many took advantage of this custom. The complete lack of rights of Russian peasants allowed the masters to do almost anything with them.

To avoid paying tax

However, the majority of residents of our country and states Western Europe This custom was quite satisfactory. And one of the reasons why representatives of the lower class literally put their brides under the feudal lords was the reluctance to pay the appropriate tax.

The peasants always lived poorly; their families had no extra money. For example, the Book of Burgundian Customs (a historical document of the late 14th century) states that when marrying a girl who belonged to another nobleman, a peasant is obliged to pay a ransom to his owner. The payment could be avoided by forcing one's bride to gesir soubs le seigneur, which literally means "to lie under the master."

The size of the virginity tax on the girl, which allowed her to avoid a night with the landowner, depended on his preferences. Thus, at the beginning of the 15th century, in Normandy, the groom could “buy” the right of the first night from a nobleman for 10 sous, a loin of a pig and a gallon of wine. Some peasants were sorry to part with money and provisions; they preferred to give in to the counts and dukes of their brides.

Some Russian nobles also generously gave gifts to young families, satisfying their whims. Such material assistance was very useful for people starting a life together.

Defloration professional

Contrary to stereotypes, many men do not like to deprive girls of their virginity. Impressionable young men are scared away by the screams, pain, tears and bloody discharge of young beauties. Physiological aspects female body seem terrible to suitors. In Puritan Europe, marriages were often entered into by guys who did not have sufficient sexual experience. It was difficult for them to perform defloration both physically and mentally.

This is where professionals came to the rescue, who could “do it” with girls in the least painful way and as safely as possible, properly arousing the young lady and without damaging her fragile psyche. Needless to say, this is a task that is beyond the power of inexperienced youngsters.

It is not surprising that in 1507, when the mayor's office of the French city of Amiens passed a law obliging lords to share a bed with the wives of their vassals on their wedding night, the population reacted positively to this decision of the authorities. Defloration was perceived by many people not as a right, but as a duty of a nobleman.

Some counts and dukes had to deflower hundreds of girls a year. If the elderly lord could no longer cope with his task properly, one of his children or younger relatives took on this important function.

The origins of this custom go back centuries. In pre-Christian Europe, it was believed that only a shaman or tribal leader could perform defloration without causing the wrath of the spirits. This difficult task was handled by professionals. Echoes of pagan beliefs were strong among the people. Only the shaman was replaced by a signor or... representative of the clergy.

One day, the inhabitants of a monastery located in the Italian city of Piedmont even turned to the local bishop with a request to release them from the obligation to engage in defloration of local residents. The leadership of the Catholic Church met them halfway, replacing the existing custom with the payment of the appropriate tax.

Bastard child

In no country in the world was the position of peasants enviable. Therefore, people hoped that the girl would become pregnant by the landowner. If a child was born 9 months after the wedding, then the master was informed of the birth of an illegitimate son or daughter. Many nobles believed in their paternity; they generously helped the peasant family and gave money to support the child. This allowed the couple to comfortably raise other children.

In addition, some landowners sought to give their bastards a decent education, which had a positive effect on their future. Illegitimate descendants of representatives of noble Russian families even received truncated surnames of their fathers. For example, the bastard of Count Vorontsov was recorded in documents as Rontsov, the son of Prince Trubetskoy bore the surname Betskoy, the descendant of Bestuzhev - Stuzhev, etc.

The bride's innocence was confirmed

In Christian countries, a girl's virginity was often one of the prerequisites for her marriage. But not all young ladies kept their virginity before marriage. How can this be? The right of the first night turned out to be in their favor, because this way everything could be hidden. They say, “the gentleman did this to me.”

As for the nobleman himself, he doesn’t care at all: the bride is a stranger. Why report to the peasants that the young lady turned out to be very experienced and skillful in bed? What does he care about people he doesn’t even want to know?

That's why many girls didn't resist. For most of them, the master's bed was available only on their wedding night, and they took advantage of it.

The myth of the first man

In many European countries there was a pagan belief that the first man is very important in the life of any woman. It was believed that he, as it were, leaves his energetic mark on her, influencing all her future children, who will certainly inherit his qualities, regardless of whether this man is their biological father or not.

Some peasants wanted their offspring to borrow at least a few traits from the “noble” man.

How did this tradition begin? According to one hypothesis, in this way the feudal lord confirmed his right of ownership.

There was such a custom in Scandinavian pagan cults. With the onset of darkness before the first wedding night, the priest of the god of fertility Frey took the bride (of course, a stranger) into the forest, lit a fire and sacrificed a pig. After this, he performed the ritual, and then brought the bride to the groom. It was believed that after this mystery, a woman would be able to give birth to many healthy sons.

Among some tribes in Africa and South America, the act of deprivation of virginity was even performed by women (healers or the wife of the tribal leader).

And among customs that have spread throughout the world, a special place is occupied by the so-called right of the first night. The ritual involves deflowering a bride who has just had a wedding and is about to have her first night of love. It is as if the groom is relegated to the background and becomes an outside observer of what is happening, and the defloration of the bride, or, more simply put, is carried out by another person in her life.

As a rule, the owner of the estate and the entire population living on his land, or he is the leader of a large tribe, or a landowner with several hundred serfs. In any case, the bride was given to the groom no longer a virgin. And in some countries, right at the wedding, all male guests had to perform sexual intercourse with the bride in turn. After copulation, the man presented her with a gift. After this intimate part, the friendship between the groom and his friends on the bride's side became even stronger.

On the European continent during the Middle Ages, the right of the first night was enshrined in law. It was believed that the overlord or even any small feudal lord gave the young woman a kind of start in life by personally depriving her of her innocence. In most cases, the groom fully supported the right of the first night, since at that distant time the feeling of superstition and religious mood were so all-consuming that grooms considered it lucky if their chosen one passed through someone else’s bed.

A few centuries later the picture changed. More and more often one could meet a groom who did not want to share his beloved bride with elderly princes and counts, giving away the right to the first night. He preferred to pay off, to pay for the integrity of his wife. In many countries of Europe and Asia, sexual intercourse with the bride was replaced by other ritual actions. The gentleman had to step over the bed with the lying bride or stretch his leg across the bed. This was considered equivalent to sexual intercourse.

And sometimes the first night of the newlyweds was furnished with so many noisy and restless manifestations of live participation in the wedding process that another groom would be glad to give up his place to friends or even a random passerby. In Macedonia, for example, sending the newlyweds to the room where they were supposed to spend their first night and giving the groom the right to have the first night, numerous groomsmen made an unimaginable noise, banging on pots and hitting the walls with sticks. Then they closed the door to the chambers and left, only to return exactly five minutes later, open the door and ask if everything worked out, where the sheet with traces of blood was and why there had been no news for so long.

And when the sheet was received and the elderly women carried it out for everyone to see, there was no end to the joy of the wedding guests. Thus, the groom still took upon himself the bloody right of the first night. The sheet was hung in a visible place and after that dozens of clay pots were broken: “as many shards are there, so many children will the young people have.” A the mighty of the world This, the count, landowners, nobles and others like them, participated in the wedding celebration on equal terms, although not as performers of the ritual, but as simply guests of honor, which did not stop them from having fun with everyone.