"Paper and ink make for a good bridegroom . Matrimonial contracts in the Historical Arcives of the Benaki Museum
Abstract
Matrimonial contracts (proikosymphona) are a form of document of particular interest to the scholar because of their direct link with the institutions of marriage and of the dowry. They are notarial deeds which provide formal recognition of dowries and uphold their validity in any legal dispute. The present study, based on the contracts preserved in the Benaki Museum's Historical Archives, aims to investigate the relevant customs and to shed light on certain aspects of Greek society. The oldest document in the archives is a matrimonial contract from Skopelos dated 7 July 1766. The dowry system had created a significant social problem for the island as parents were obliged to provide their first-born daughter with a house as dowry. Later agreements derive from other parts of the country and take the form either of a notarial deed or of a private contract. The total value of the dowry was calculated after assessing the moveable and immoveable property recorded in the matrimonial contract or the dowry list (proikolavi). The priokosymphono was followed by the proikolavi, which in fact constituted the detailed inventory of the moveable items of the dowry. This has a special interest for the student of folklore, as it describes the garments which constituted traditional costume, the domestic linen and the household furnishings. We know from folklore and archival records of another institution linked with the dowry, that of the premarital gift (progamiaia dorea) — the so-called 'counterdowr' (antiproiki) or 'basket' (kaniski). The pre-marital gift is attributed to Byzantine legislation and takes the form of a gift from the bridegroom to the bride and not to her family. The year 1919 marked a turning-point in the development of the dowry system, as it was then that the law relating to the taxation of dowries was enacted. The reform of family law in 1983 abolished the legislation relating to dowry arrangements and the institution ceased to have legal effect, but it still continues to this day on an informal basis.
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Δημητριάδου Μ. (2018). "Paper and ink make for a good bridegroom . Matrimonial contracts in the Historical Arcives of the Benaki Museum. Mouseio Benaki Journal, 4, 91–98. https://doi.org/10.12681/benaki.18255
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