The Tsaritsa, the Needlewomen and the Witches: Magic in Moscow in the 1630s
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This article focuses on the 1639 case of Dar’ia Lamanova, a needlewoman in the Kremlin sewing-room, who was accused of trying to harm Tsaritsa Evdokiia Luk’ianova by sprinkling the ashes of her burnt shirt-collar in a corridor where the tsaritsa regularly walked. It was suspected that Dar’ia’s actions had brought about the deaths of five-year-old Tsarevich Ivan in January 1639, and of his new-born brother Vasilii in March, but she was found guilty only of attempting to gain the favor of the tsar and tsaritsa. This case is discussed in the context of fears at court in the 16th and 17th centuries that members of the royal household might harm the tsar and his family by magical means. The article also examines evidence, brought to light by the investigation into Dar’ia’s case, of love magic and healing magic practised by a number of witches in Moscow with whom the Kremlin needlewomen were associated. The accused were found guilty of involvement in these types of “everyday” or “prosaic” magic, but the authorities accepted that there was no plot against the royal family. Thus even a case that had seemed to affect the succession to the throne and the stability of the dynasty was resolved without resort to a witch-hunt on the Western European model.
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11)
Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits, 201-2. The general oath of loyalty to Boris Godunov also included an undertaking not to harm the tsar or members of his family by tampering with their food or drink or clothing: AAE, vol.2, no.10, p.58.
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12)
Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits, 202. Kotoshikhin reported that when the tsaritsa’s laundresses took her clothing to the river for washing, the laundry was locked securely in a trunk covered with a red cloth, and guarded by a lady-in-waiting: Kotošixin, O Rossii v carstvovanie Alekseja Mixajloviča, 46-7. Ryan (The Bathhouse, 186) suggests that this was a precaution against witchcraft.
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19)
On sweat in love magic, see Ryan, The Bathhouse, 75, 182, 281. See also the question about sweat in a confessional questionnaire for women, dating from the first quarter of the 17th century: Korogodina, Ispoved’, 218, 477, 563.
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20)
Ryan, The Bathhouse, 180, 281; Korogodina, Ispoved’, 217-20.
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25)
Kotošixin, O Rossii v carstvovanie Alekseja Mixajloviča, 46. We have some biographical information about the needlewomen named in this case. Dar’ia Lamanova was married (to Sten’ka, the stolovyi istopnik). Mar’ia Snavidova too was married, as were her sister, Domna Volkhova, and Paraskov’ia Kolodnicha. Anna Tiapkina was married to Ivan Korobanov, and had children. Ovdot’ia Iaryshkina was married (to a syn boiarskii), and had children, including a daughter with epilepsy. She was the cousin of Ivan Soimanov (the syn boiarskii who was Dar’ia’s lover) and his brother Borisko. Paraskov’ia Surovtsova was married, and had a daughter whose husband was a musketeer centurion. Thus the general picture is similar to that painted by Kotoshikhin.
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The Tsaritsa, the Needlewomen and the Witches: Magic in Moscow in the 1630s
In: Russian HistorySearch for other papers by Maureen Perrie in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This article focuses on the 1639 case of Dar’ia Lamanova, a needlewoman in the Kremlin sewing-room, who was accused of trying to harm Tsaritsa Evdokiia Luk’ianova by sprinkling the ashes of her burnt shirt-collar in a corridor where the tsaritsa regularly walked. It was suspected that Dar’ia’s actions had brought about the deaths of five-year-old Tsarevich Ivan in January 1639, and of his new-born brother Vasilii in March, but she was found guilty only of attempting to gain the favor of the tsar and tsaritsa. This case is discussed in the context of fears at court in the 16th and 17th centuries that members of the royal household might harm the tsar and his family by magical means. The article also examines evidence, brought to light by the investigation into Dar’ia’s case, of love magic and healing magic practised by a number of witches in Moscow with whom the Kremlin needlewomen were associated. The accused were found guilty of involvement in these types of “everyday” or “prosaic” magic, but the authorities accepted that there was no plot against the royal family. Thus even a case that had seemed to affect the succession to the throne and the stability of the dynasty was resolved without resort to a witch-hunt on the Western European model.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1339 | 183 | 23 |
| Full Text Views | 175 | 1 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 99 | 3 | 0 |
