Women of Kievan Rus

The women of Kievan Rus were in a much different setting and companionable coordinate than their western counterparts. With the arrival of Christianity in Kievan Rus can new changes to family relations and positions of women in society and the household. The church divide women into two groups, the good and the evil women. The determination of who fell into what group was determined on how they compared to the norms of behavior of saints. With women change integrity into two groups the church focused more on the conduct of evil women.The church handed cut back instructions on the conduct of women. The core of these instructions was based on the submissiveness of women to god and their husbands. They urged women to stay tongueless and be socially dependent. But womens lives were not totally controlled and they were not treated sub-humanly. As seen in the treaty between Novgorod and Gotland slave women had rights and were defended against harm. The example it gives is the denial to rape or harm slave women. Their social roles were saved and offenders would have to stand trial and pay a heavy fine.Their counterparts, free women were also protected and held interesting privileges. Women were well protected from anything stemming from simple insults to rape. They also had a choice in their marriage companion and if they were forced into a marriage then the parents would have to pay a hefty fine. There were documents unearthed, which showed that Novgorod women bring money and owned land. Women in Novgorod and Kievan Rus were a unique sect of society with both freedoms and restrictions.