Petr and Fevroniia’s unorthodox marriage

Mayhew, N. (2023) Petr and Fevroniia’s unorthodox marriage. Slavonic and East European Review, 100(4), pp. 654-673.

Abstract

The married couple Petr and Fevroniia were first canonized in 1547. In Russia today, they are celebrated as an example of supposedly 'traditional' Orthodox family values. Academic studies of the saints' early hagiographies often reinforce this idea, presenting them as idealized love stories or celebrations of Orthodox marriage. By contrast, this article argues that the first, sixteenth-century version of the saints' hagiography depicts a marriage that was unorthodox in its depiction of gender and sexuality. Although unorthodox features would later be removed from the text, there remains a gulf between contemporary and historical understandings of the saints' marriage.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mayhew, Dr Nick
• Authors: Mayhew, N.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
• Journal Name: Slavonic and East European Review
• Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)
• ISSN: 0037-6795
• ISSN (Online): 2222-4327
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 Modern Humanities Research Association
• First Published: Slavonic and East European Review 100(4):654-673
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher