History of sodomy as a sexual behavior. Facts about distribution in Rus”.
Sodomy is a historical hypernomination that commonly refers to various forms of sexual behavior. Often this concept is characterized by sexual perversion. Many people believe that sodomites are people who have sexual relations with sexual partners — a non-traditional sexual orientation, as it is not customary to say in the modern language of the brain.
Contents of the article:
Historical background
According to biblical legends, in the distant past there were two cities — Gomorrah and Sodom. They were united by the population. It was completely integrated of sinners who developed casual intimate relationships with each other. In Sodom there lived a righteous man named Lot, with whom two travelers (in some versions these were angels sent from God) stayed one night. Residents of the city began to demand that these strangers enter into intimate relations with them.
This caused God”s wrath. Despite the many lots that befell the Almighty, both cities were wiped off the face of the earth along with all their inhabitants. God sent streams of fire at both cities and incinerated them. According to legend, only Lot and his family managed to save them. However, Lot”s wife was too weak to perform this sign, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
It was the biblical legend that gave rise to the concept of “sin of Sodom,” which became synonymous with homosexual relations. Such definitions are usually given to those who are prone to lust and release. The concept of “sodomy” is outdated, and in modern language it has been replaced by the definition of “sexual perversion.”
Catholic sodomy
From the 6th century to the 11th century in Western and Central Europe, “sodomy” meant forbidden sexual relations. These include adultery, premarital sex, oral or anal sex, and representatives of different sexes. However, it cannot be overlooked that the practice of the Catholic Church is so strict that it allows sexual contact only between legal spouses for the purpose of procreation.
Since the 12th century, under the influence of the Inquisition, the Catholic Church began to call sexual relations between two men sodomy. Since then, sodomy has become ingrained in the idea of sexual contact between members of the stronger sex.
Sodomy in Russia
In Russia, sodomy was widespread before the time of Peter the Great. Therefore, people referred to it as intimate contact between men. Historians confidently assert that homosexuals were especially numerous among wealthy merchants who purchased boys for physical pleasure. Similarly, the term “spike” (spika) was used to describe “sodomite.” It was first mentioned in an old code of Russian rules and served as a definition of sexual behavior disorder. However, deviations from such norms were not considered a crime in Russia at that time.
Sodomy and modern society
Today, the term “sodomy” is no longer used. Modern language has become filled with other words and expressions to describe such non-traditional, deviant behavior. Most often, one hears about “non-traditional sexual orientation,” “sexual behavior disorders,” and “homosexuality.” When these terms are used both in everyday life and in literature and law, people today do not quite understand what is being discussed. As before, this definition implied an abnormal sexual preference, but now it referred to anal sex.
The Significance of Sodomy in Russian History
The meaning of sodomy in the history of Rus”
The church penance for sodomy lasted from one to seven years, corresponding to the punishment for heterosexual intercourse. The age of the person punished within marriage and the regularity of sexual relations, as well as whether they were an active or passive sinner, were also taken into account. Single men and boys were more permissive than married men.
If anal intercourse was not proven, the case became the property of the deceased, and the punishment was mitigated. Intimate relations between girls were considered equivalent to masturbation, and the punishment for it was much less than for relations with men, especially if virgins were not involved.
The period from the 11th to the 13th centuries in Rus” passed under the sign of the Mongol yoke and various raids of nomads. However, liberated Russia adopted many of the customs of the invaders. Women were not recognized as having any rights. Even well-born women stopped receiving education and did not participate in the political and social life of the state. Marriages were concluded by consent of older family members, who in most cases did not even look each other in the eyes. Data between different sexes are not available. However, there is much evidence, both local and foreign, of widespread homosexuality among men.
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In the church environment they talk about homosexuality “domostroy”, as if by chance. The ministers of the Church cared much more about such sinners; adults began among them, and relationships between people did little to care for them. As noted by foreigners visiting the state at the time, combating drunkenness was considered a priority, but they could only report same-sex relationships.
Some monasteries of the time prohibited allowing teenagers to do this. Monastic regulations were drawn up according to Greek models, but such prohibitions did not serve to eliminate the danger of homosexuality, but as a kind of testimony to the Lord of famous ministers of that time. There is no need to talk about ordinary monks if Metropolitan Zosima himself was engaged in errors.
In subsequent centuries the situation was no better. This is confirmed by the fact that Moscow Prince Vasily 3 (during the reign of 1505-1533) was a real homosexual. After 20 years of marriage, he and his wife Solomonia Sabrova did not appear, for which Vasily 3 was probably to blame.
Therefore, he placed her in a monastery and took Elena Glinskaya as his wife. But even changing his wife did not help him change his orientation. To fulfill his marital duties, he asked her to be present in his security room. However, Elena could not agree to this completely and was afraid that her future heir would be perceived as illegitimate. One of the children, Vasily, and Elena turned out to be weak-minded, and the other, the famous ruler Ivan, was terrible.
But for all his severity and cruelty, Ivan 4 is not indifferent to men in women”s dress. So Fyodor Basmanov, the son of one of the guards, a great master of dancing in women”s costumes, becomes his favorite. To prevent the secret of their relationship from going beyond the palace, Ivan the Terrible had to kill his ill-fated lover.
Ivan the Terrible and Fyodor Basmanov.
Why are Russian idols entirely homosexuals? the terrible, Peter I, Stalin. lecture by historian A. palia
However, according to foreign ambassadors, one should not think that only the upper classes of the state were keen on sodomy; homosexuality is widespread among all segments of the population. Homosexual relationships were so common that it was pointless to fight them with laws and traditions. At that time, it was strongly discouraged to cut your beard to avoid being convicted of sodomy.
To summarize all of the above, we can say that while the British, German, Dutch, German and Spanish inquisitors hanged, burned and punished homosexuals in every possible way, sodomy flourished in Russia.
The restlessness of the Romanovs gave way to the turbulent reign of Peter the Great. The king was very passionate about sexual pleasures, but did not choose his partners based on gender. If his wife was not around, on her marital side, he included several peasants in his retinue. Therefore, he is in no hurry to follow the example of the West and tighten punishment for homosexuality. It cannot be said that he had good feelings for his mistresses, since in any attack he beat them mercilessly, but he commissioned an artist to photograph one of them in the nude.
Punishments for “unnatural debauchery” were first introduced in 1706. This is recorded in the “Essay” of Prince Menshchikov. Burning at the stake was introduced for fornication with cows and sodomy. However, Peter himself did not lead a proper sex life, so the punishment was later reduced to corporal punishment and “eternal banishment” in case of violence. At the same time, this code applied only to the army, and not to the rest of the population.
Peter the Great and Alexander Menshchikov
Therefore, Peter, a flamboyant heterosexual, developed a particular liking for his lover, Alexander Menshchikov. From the son of a groom, he gradually transformed into the most tranquil prince. During military campaigns, he did not suffer from sexual abstinence, as he committed adultery with soldiers.
Another representative of the bisexual-leaning Romanov royal family was Peter I”s niece, Anna Ioannovna. Her reign lasted from 1730 to 1740, and, according to contemporary records, she had sexual relations with her maid of honor.
Catherine II, who had German roots, was also prone to lesbian infatuations. This is evidenced by her correspondence with Princess Dashkova, in which the empresses clearly hint at an existing relationship. However, her unbridled passion for men, whom nature had endowed with very large masculinities, prevented her from engaging in any serious love affairs with women. Catherine the Great saw nothing wrong with homosexual contacts, so in 1767 she abolished corporal punishment, explaining that the accused would be greatly ashamed upon arrest.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as relations between the West and the Russian state improved, it became clear that the Russian people found foreigners” hatred and hostility toward sodomy frightening. Therefore, in addition to fashion and other foreign trends, Russians adopted homophobia, and sodomy began to find its place underground.
By this time, it could only be found among the poorest strata of society, as well as among officials and nobles. Noble and influential people preferred to pay assistants to solve important problems, including corruption.
As in Europe, there were homosexual educational institutions, such as the Junker School, the Page Corps, and the Cadet Corps. This phenomenon was widespread, and the students did not particularly evoke horror or disgust. On the contrary, this was another reason for the creation of caricature poetry.
British schools in the 19th century can boast of the same practice. It”s worth noting that the struggle for school administration had no visible effect.
But what was sex like in Ancient Rus”? You can find out in the following article! You”ll be surprised!
The History of Russian Culture in 25 Minutes
History, sodomy, sexual, behavior, facts
