How to Behave at Home and in Society: Karion Istomin’s Domostroj and Its Possible Sources

Abstract

How to Behave at Home and in Society: Karion Istomin’s Domostroj and Its Possible Sources

Among Karion Istomin’s pedagogical works, there is the so-called Domostroj, a sort of poetic book of good manners for children, written in the 1690s. Is it an original work or a translation? The question has interested scholars for decades. So far, the most convincing hypothesis is the one suggested by Agarkova (1967), that Domostroj might have arisen on the basis of Erasmus’ treatise De Civilitate Morum puerilium, known in 17th century Russia in Epifanij Slavineckij’s translation as Graždanstvo Obyčaev Detskich. Despite the correspondences between the two texts, one could hardly regard, as Agarkova proposed, Domostroj as a pereloženie of Erasmus’ treatise. In this article, I will consider another pedagogical work of the period, that is Comenius’ Praecepta Morum and try to compare the Latin text written by Comenius and Karion’s poetic text: the many correspondences seem to suggest that Comenius’ treatise should be considered one of the main sources of this Russian work.