The terem () was separate living quarters occupied by elite women in Muscovite Russia. In a narrow context, it may refer to the upper story of a home or castle, often with a pitched roof. In a broader context, the term is used by historians to discuss the elite social practice of female seclusion that reached its height in the 17th century. Royal or noble women were not only confined to separate quarters, but were also prevented from socialization with men outside their immediate family, and were shielded from the public eye in closed carriages or heavily concealing clothing.
The word is not to be confused with the Terem Palace in Moscow, an extended part of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which was not occupied exclusively by women.
Etymology
Although the origins of the practice are still a matter of debate among historians, it is generally believed that the word terem comes from the Proto-Slavic root *term ('dwelling').терем - Wiktionary Its usage in a Russian context has been dated to the times of Kievan Rus'. Although a matriarchy may have ruled over several East Slavic tribes prior to the Kievan period, the introduction of Christianity in the late 10th century brought a patriarchal system. However, the process of conversion took several centuries. and the Church was forced to assimilate various pagan beliefs into its own structure. By the 14th and 15th centuries, during the Mongol domination of Russia, Christianity had permeated all levels of Russian society, and women were increasingly subordinated to men. During the Muscovite period, with growing centralization, the hierarchy of social relations became much more clearly defined.
The word terem is in no way linguistically related to the Arabic word harem, as was mistakenly assumed by foreign travelers to Russia during the period, as well as 19th-century Russian historians who thought it to be directly derived from the Islamic practice of enclosing the female members of a household. Parallels have been drawn between the terem and the South Asian practice of female physical seclusion, purdah, but this is also problematic due to a lack of evidence suggesting that the terem was derived from foreign cultural practices. Contemporary Russian sources often use the word pokoi ('calm, rest'), but 19th-century historians popularized the word terem, which became synonymous with the general practice of elite female seclusion.
Practice
As women's quarters
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the seclusion of aristocratic women in separate quarters became a common practice among royal and boyar families. The terem was often a cloistered apartment within a home or castle, usually on an upper story or in a separate wing, from which all contact with unrelated males was forbidden. As a separate building, the women's quarters might only be connected to the men's by an outdoor passageway. The women's quarters of the tsar's palace were particularly elaborate and were equipped with a separate courtyard, dining room, and children’s apartments, as well as a large group of maidservants, wet nurses, nannies, and ladies in waiting. Even in the late 17th century, when different rooms began to be distinguished for specific purposes, separate quarters for men and women were maintained in noble households.
Daughters were often born and brought up solely within the confines of the terem, where they were isolated in accordance with Eastern Orthodox teachings regarding premarital virginity. They were taught by their mothers and other female relatives to become wives, spending most of their days in prayer or needlework. Indeed, except for short excursions, women did not leave their quarters until marriage, though they were permitted to receive visitors and leave their rooms to manage household affairs. Male children, on the other hand, were typically taken from their mother’s care around the age of seven to receive formal instruction at the hands of private tutors or their male family members.
As a political and social institution
The practice of the terem strictly segregated aristocratic Russian women both from members of the opposite sex as well as the public eye in general. Under the institution of the terem, aristocratic men and women were assigned to wholly separate spheres.Pushkareva, page83 Elite women were completely subordinate to their husbands and could not hold public office or power. Even tsaritsas were not crowned alongside their husbands, the first female co-ruler being Catherine I in 1724. However, in some ways, the women did have an advantage over their Western counterparts in that they could hold property and manage their own dowries. Most importantly, though, mothers were given great authority in arranging marriages, which often had invaluable political and economic implications. Traditionally, they held immense influence over marriage selections for their children, both male and female, and even interviewed prospective candidates. For example, the Romanovs' ascension to power in 1613 was dependent on a marriage alliance formed between Anastasia Romanovna and Ivan IV in 1547, an alliance overseen by the mothers of both parties. Most of the petitions received by the tsaritsa were, in fact, requests for permission to marry. In this way, women were able to express some degree of political sway, a fact that has led some recent historians such as Isolde Thyret to question the degree to which women were politically repressed by the institution of the terem. These issues aside, the fact that the institution placed extreme restrictions on female mobility remains unquestionable.
The primary function of the terem was political, as it was intended to protect a woman's value in the marriage market. As in Islamic and Near Eastern societies, the veiling and seclusion of women allowed for greater control over a woman’s marriage choices, which often had immense political and economic implications. The seclusion of women and the practice of arranged marriage were fairly common in medieval and early modern European history, though Russian women were restricted to a greater degree. Though Orthodox belief emphasized the importance of virginity, to a greater degree was virginity valued as a measure of a woman's worth when establishing political and economic alliances through marriage. Mothers had a traditional role in negotiating these arranged marriages, one of the few ways in which female political power could be manifested under the institution of the terem. Orthodox beliefs regarding menstruation may have also been used to justify the seclusion of women. Ecclesiastical regulations forbade menstruating women from entering in church buildings and participating in other activities, further justifying the segregation of women who were "ritually unclean".
The extent to which female mobility was restricted by the terem as an institution governing female behavior is evident in several different sources. In the 16th-century travel writings of German diplomat Sigismund von Herberstein, which provides the first record of female seclusion in Russia, it is noted that:
A century later, German scholar Adam Olearius also observed the extent to which female movement was regulated:
This extended to seclusion from social and political affairs within the royal court. As noted by historian Brenda Meehan-Waters, "propriety demanded that 'if a Russian gives an Entertainment to Persons not related to him, the Mistress of the House does not appear at all or only just before Dinner, to make the Guests welcome with a Kiss and a Cup of Brandy, after which she makes her Poclan or Courtesy, and gets out of the Way again.'" The institution of the terem was even reflected in diplomatic practice, particularly in forging marriage alliances. Strict separation was maintained even between the betrothed. For example, during the marriage of Ivan III's daughter Helena Ivanovna to Alexander, the grand duke of Lithuania, it was insisted upon that Helena use her own carriage and even stand on a separate carpet when meeting with her future husband.
The terem as a social ideal was also exhibited in women's dress of the 16th and 17th centuries. Women traditionally wore heavily concealing clothing with high necks and long sleeves. They were often multi-layered and loose-fitting. Married women of all statuses were expected to cover their heads with a headdress like a kokoshnik, and shrouding or veiling was common. The terem also held a certain amount of social value. Seclusion was considered a mark of honor among aristocratic women, and a privilege out of the reach of the lower classes. Inside the terem walls, women were safe from attack and insult, as well as contact with people who might "besmirch their character".
This was a socially narrow practice, meaning that strict segregation of women was only practiced on the daughters and wives of wealthy boyars and the royal family. Women from the provincial gentry, merchant, and peasant classes did not have the "economic means, nor the political incentive" to practice female seclusion, and often had to bear the same economic responsibilities as men. In this respect, peasant and town women were afforded greater freedom of movement. As Adam Olearius observed, speaking of the strict segregation of aristocratic women, "These customs, however, are not strictly observed among the common people. At home the women go poorly attired except when they appear, at the order of their husbands, to render honor to a strange guest by sipping a cup of vodka to him, or when they go through the streets, to church, for example; then they are supposed to be dressed gorgeously, with their faces and throats heavily made up."
However, as seclusion was perceived as a mark of honor, all women "mimicked the goals of seclusion by modest dress and public behavior, and by supporting a highly articulated system of honor" deeply influenced by Orthodox teaching.
In folklore
The motif of the terem was frequently alluded to in folklore. One story immortalizes the lonely daughter of the tsar who “sits behind three-times-nine locks; she sits behind three-times-nine keys; where the wind never blew, the sun never shone, and young heroes never saw her.” In popular songs, too, many allusions are made to the mysterious and symbolic seclusion of women. One wedding song references the symbolic emergence of the virtuous maiden from the seclusion of the terem, emphasizing the untouchable nature of the female sphere:
Origins and historiography
The origins of the terem are still a matter of historical debate among scholars. Unfortunately, due to a paucity of sources from the late Muscovite and early modern Russian period, it is particularly difficult for historians to either determine the cultural origins of the practice of segregating elite women, or when it became a part of the social mainstream.
Chronological origins
Historians of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries theorized that the terem was adopted from practices of the Mongol Empire during the occupation of the Golden Horde, in the 13th century.
The earliest source which references the terem does not appear until the 16th century, but it is uncertain how long it had been in practice prior to the writing of Sigismund von Herberstein's 1557 account of Russia. With Herberstein's account, historians "postulate a radical change in women’s status during the time of Ivan III," though it is unlikely that such a dramatic social change was undertaken so suddenly.