The most unusual families. Interesting facts about family Interesting facts about family and marriage

There is very little information about the family structure of the peoples who inhabited the territory of Russia before the adoption of Christianity.

Chronicles indicate that the Polyans had already developed a monogamous family, while other Slavic peoples still retained polygamy. Family relations were regulated during this period by customary law. Various sources contain indications of several ways to enter into marriage. Among them, the most ancient is the abduction of the bride by the groom without her consent, however, gradually the abduction of the bride begins to be preceded by a conspiracy with her. The Slavs had the custom of kidnapping those brides with whom they conspired at games. Also often the bride was bought from her relatives. Among the Polyans, the most common form of marriage was the bringing of the bride by her relatives to the groom’s house. At the same time, the bride’s consent to the marriage was not of great importance, although Yaroslav’s Charter already contains a ban on marrying off by force. The marriage ceremony was accompanied by a special ritual: the bride was brought to the groom's house in the evening, and she took off his shoes. The day after the wedding, her relatives brought a dowry. Personal relationships between spouses are largely

depended on the form of marriage. When a bride was kidnapped, she became the property of her husband. When buying a bride and especially when concluding a marriage with a dowry by agreement between the groom and the bride's relatives, firstly, relations arose between the groom and these relatives, which somewhat limited the power of the husband. Secondly, the first signs of vesting the wife with personal rights appear, although the husband’s power was still very great. In Rus', apparently, the husband never legally had the right of life and death in relation to his wife. However, her husband could control her freedom.

Divorce in that period was carried out freely, and there is reason to believe that in a marriage with a dowry, the initiator of divorce could be a woman.

With the adoption of Christianity in Rus', a collection of Byzantine family law began to operate, supplemented by Russian princes, which was called the Helmsman's Book. Christianity spread very slowly, and the displacement of pagan customs occurred very slowly. Church weddings, introduced in the 11th century, were practiced only among the upper strata of society; the rest of the population married according to traditional rites, which were rightly considered relics of paganism. The Church constantly fought against these customs.

According to the Helmsman's Book, the wedding was preceded by an engagement - a conspiracy, during which the bride's parents and the groom agreed on marriage and agreed on a dowry. The act of betrothal was formalized with a special spoken record; in case of violation of the promise to marry, a penalty was established - a charge that sometimes reached significant sizes. At the same time, the priest who performed the betrothal gave a wedding record, which had to be presented at the wedding. The age of marriage was set at 15 years for the groom and 13 years for the bride. The upper age limit was not formally established, but the priest was prohibited from marrying elderly people. Marriages between people with a large age difference and between close relatives were prohibited. It was forbidden to marry if there was another undissolved marriage. Mutual consent to marriage was always necessary according to church law, but in reality the bride's consent was almost never asked. It was forbidden to enter into a fourth marriage.

Divorce became increasingly difficult. The main reason for divorce was adultery, since divorce for adultery is mentioned in the Gospel. The obligation to divorce an unfaithful wife existed only for clergy, but the right to divorce her was, of course, recognized for everyone. The husband was considered to have committed adultery only if he was in a relationship with a married woman. Reasons for divorce were also considered to be the inability to cohabitate in marriage, the wife's infertility, the unknown absence of one of the spouses, and an incurable disease, such as leprosy. During the period under review, divorce was still possible by mutual consent of the spouses.

Personal relationships between spouses also change with the adoption of Christianity. A married woman is no longer considered as her husband's property, but as a relatively independent person. For the murder of his wife, the husband was punished, and the wife who killed was buried alive in the ground. Much could pledge his wife, giving the pledgee the right to use the collateral. The relationship between parents and children in Ancient Rus', as elsewhere in this period, was built on paternal authority. The legality of origin at the time in question was not yet of decisive importance.

With the adoption of Christianity, only legal kinship gradually begins to be given importance. The Code of 1648 prohibited the legitimation of illegitimate children, even in the case of the parents’ marriage. Children had no legal connection with their father and were recognized only as relatives of their mother.

Parental power in Rus' was very strong, although parents never formally had the right of life and death over their children. However, the murder of children was not considered a serious crime (for the murder of a child, the father was sentenced to a year in prison and church repentance). Children who killed their parents were subject to the death penalty. Children were forced to obey by the father himself through home punishment. Children could not complain about their parents. For just one attempt to file a complaint, the Code of 1648 prescribed “to beat them with a whip mercilessly.”

Parents could also turn to public authorities to punish their children. The case was not considered on its merits; only one complaint from the parents was enough to sentence the children to flogging. Parents even had the right to send their children into slavery.

The reforms of Peter I marked the beginning of a new period in the development of family law. Decisive importance began to be attached to voluntary marriage.

In 1810, the Synod compiled a list of prohibited degrees of relationship. Now marriages of ascending and descending relatives, as well as collateral relatives up to the seventh degree inclusive, were prohibited. In 1744, by Decree of the Synod, marriages of persons over 80 years of age were prohibited. In 1830, the age of marriage was raised to 18 for men and 16 for women. To get married, it was necessary to obtain parental consent, regardless of the age of the bride and groom. A marriage entered into without the consent of the parents was nevertheless considered valid, but the children were deprived of their inheritance. Persons in civil or military service were obliged to obtain the consent of their superiors to marry.

Since 1775, marriage could only take place in the parish church of one of the parties to be married. The wedding was still preceded by an agreement. The marriage took place in the personal presence of the bride and groom, an exception was made only for members of the imperial family marrying foreign princesses.

A marriage could be declared invalid if it was committed as a result of violence or insanity of one or both spouses. Marriages between persons in prohibited degrees of kinship were also invalid; if there is another undissolved marriage; with a person over 80 years of age; with a person of the clergy doomed to celibacy; Orthodox with non-Christians.

Divorce became less and less free during the imperial period. Reasons for divorce were: adultery of either spouse, bigamy, inability to cohabitate in marriage, attempt on the life of a spouse, adoption of monasticism, exile to hard labor.

The divorce procedure in Imperial Russia was very complicated. The divorce proceedings were carried out in court. The process itself was of a mixed adversarial and investigative nature. The decisive importance was attached not to the persuasiveness of the evidence for the judges, but to the presence of strictly defined evidence, which, for example, in the case of adultery, was the testimony of two or three eyewitnesses. In practice, this led to numerous abuses and bribery of false witnesses. In the case of marriage, even criminal punishment was possible.

The personal rights and obligations of spouses also underwent significant changes during the imperial period. First of all, with the perception of European forms of life, the very position of women in society changed. The power of the husband, formally preserved until 1917, takes on more civilized forms. So, since 1845, a husband has no right to subject his wife to physical punishment.

The place of residence of the spouses was determined by the place of residence of the husband. The wife was obliged to follow him, otherwise she could be forced into her husband’s house.

Beginning in the 18th century, a wife had the right to demand judicial separation for cruelty.

Since Peter's times, a wife's dowry has been considered as separate property, which the husband cannot even use. Also, the wife had the right to freely dispose of property without requiring permission or credential letters from her husband.

The right to maintenance was recognized only for the wife, whom the husband was obliged to support. This obligation ceased if the wife did not fulfill her marital duties, in particular, she refused to follow her husband.

In Peter's times, the power of parents over children was softened: parents no longer had the right to forcibly marry their children or send them to a monastery.

The right of parents to use physical punishment against children was never abolished in pre-revolutionary Russia. Starting from the 18th century, it gradually became limited to the prohibition of maiming and injuring children, as well as responsibility for driving them to suicide. Parents could still use public measures against disobedient children. Thus, it was allowed, at the request of parents, to imprison children for a period of three to four months for disobedience to parents or depraved life.

Russian legislation at that time did not know about deprivation of parental rights. With one exception: Orthodox parents could be deprived of parental rights if they raised their children in a different faith.

Parents not only had the right, but also had the obligation to raise their children. Education consisted of preparing children for useful activities: identifying sons for service, and daughters for marriage. Parents were also required to provide maintenance for minor children in accordance with their capabilities.

In the 18th century, illegitimate children followed their mother's fortunes. The father was only obliged to support the illegitimate child and his mother, but this maintenance was considered not as alimony, but as compensation for harm. The military article of 1716 obligated a single man whose unmarried mistress gave birth to a child to provide her and the child with a means of subsistence.

Under Alexander I, it began to be allowed to legitimize children born before marriage if their parents married each other. This rule did not apply to children born from adultery.

Adoption in Russia was allowed to all classes, except for nobles, who could adopt only in the absence of descendant and lateral relatives of the same family. Peasants could adopt by adding a child to their family, but he received the right to an allotment only if the adoption was authorized by the community.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, all classes received the right to adopt children. The adoptive parent could only be a person over 50 years old, and there had to be a difference of at least 18 years between him and the adopted child. It was forbidden for persons who were married and had their own children to adopt. Since 1902, it was allowed to adopt one's illegitimate children.

Almost immediately after the October Revolution of 1917, two major reforms of family law were carried out. On December 18, 1917, a decree “On civil marriage, children and the introduction of civil status books” was issued. According to this decree, the only form of marriage for all Russian citizens, regardless of religion, was marriage in government agencies. The conditions for marriage have become very simplified. It was enough to reach the age of marriage: 16 years for women and 18 years for men and the mutual consent of the future spouses. The obstacles to marriage were the following: the presence of a mental illness in one of the spouses, the condition of the bride and groom in the prohibited degrees of kinship (marriages between ascendants and descendants, siblings), as well as the presence of another undissolved marriage.

The second most important provision contained in this decree was the equalization of the rights of legitimate and illegitimate children. In addition, it was possible to establish paternity in court.

Following the first decree, on December 19, 1917, a second no less significant act was adopted - the decree “On Divorce.” Divorce cases initiated by a spouse's unilateral application were transferred to local courts. Questions about who the minor children would stay with, the payment of funds for their maintenance, and also about alimony to the ex-wife were resolved by agreement between the spouses. In the absence of agreement, these issues were considered by the court. It is interesting to note that the right to maintenance was recognized at that time only for the wife, but not for the husband.

Both decrees were very progressive for that time. And in 1994, the State Duma of the Russian Federation created a working group to prepare the latest Family Code, which was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on December 8, 1995.

Culture

Some describe marriage as a union between two people in love who give each other vows of eternal love and fidelity. However, this definition can be given to modern marriage. In the past, the concept of “marriage” was much different from the modern one.

Although marriage has ancient roots, only comparatively Recently, love between partners in most cases has become an integral part of it.

Previously, marriage was not associated with the relationship between a man and a woman. His goal was to create unions, expand the family’s labor resources, and leave offspring. In some cultures this trend has continued to this day However, living in a civilized modern society, we are accustomed to the fact that marriage means something completely different.

Today no longer same-sex marriages are rare, which are legal in some countries. It is not surprising that the first country to officially allow the registration of such unions was Holland. Other countries followed: Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway and so on. A month ago I joined the list France, where Parliament approved the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Find out about the most interesting facts from the history of marriage, which has come a long way from polygamy to homosexual unions:

Strategic alliances

Marriage is a fairly ancient form of union between people, which originated at the dawn of humanity. Early forms of marriage were seen as strategic alliances between families, in which young people often had no rights. In some cultures, parents could even marry one of your children on the spirit of a deceased child to strengthen family ties.

Consanguineous marriages

Unions within the same family were quite common. The Bible says that the forefathers Isaac And Jacob were married to their cousins, and Abraham was the husband of his half-sister. Marriages between cousins ​​remain common to this day. especially in the Middle East. Anthropologists also confirm that this phenomenon was common in the past.

Polygamous marriages

Monogamous marriages currently predominate throughout the world, but were more common in the past. polygamy. Many of the people described in the Bible are from Jacob to kings David And Solomon, had more than one wife. Men with high status always strived for polygamy.

Even today, statistics show that most men would not object to polygamy, if it were allowed. Only a few cultures allow a woman to have multiple husbands, and there are only a few examples of group marriages.

You don't have to have children

In many early cultures, a man could end his marriage or take another woman as his wife if if the first wife was infertile. Interestingly, if a couple did not have children, it was always the woman who was to blame. Early Christian church For the first time, she set the condition that married people must leave offspring.

If you can leave offspring, then you have to do it, says the church. However, church law allows that a marriage can be annulled if the man unable to sleep with his wife due to physical reasons.

Monogamous marriages

The reign of monogamy

Monogamous marriages began to dominate Western culture around 6th-9th centuries. Between Catholic Church and the old nobility witnessed a fairly long war for the right to nobility have several wives.

Ultimately, the church emerged victorious in this struggle, and by the 9th century, only monogamous unions were officially permitted.

Monogamous marriage is different from the modern concept mutual trust. Although marriage is officially or sacredly recognized only between one man and one woman, up to until the 19th century men had the freedom to engage in extramarital sexual relations with other women.

If children were born from these unions, which was quite often, they were considered illegitimate, and they had no right to inherit their father's property.

Women, unlike men, were punished for such free behavior, their reputation was threatened, and society harshly criticized them.

Church intervention

Western marriages were originally a kind of agreement between the families of two partners, without Catholic Church, nor the state had anything to do with marriage. In 1215 year, the church decided to intervene and issued a decree according to which those getting married must publicly announce marriage in order to reduce the number of illegal marriages.

Until the 16th century the church accepted just a couple's marriage vows, there was no need to have witnesses or confirm the marriage with official documents.

Marriage certificates

Over the past few hundred years, the state has begun to play a role in marriage important role. For example, in the United States, the state of Massachusetts began issuing marriage certificates in 1639, and by the 19th century such certificates had already become the norm.

Love-match

Love and affection were not an important part of marriage a hundred years ago. For example, during Victorian era in Europe, many men married women for whom they had no feelings no carnal desires, let alone feelings.

Gradually, throughout the world, unions that were organized by families, as well as arranged marriages, gave way to love marriage. By the way, the transition from an agricultural economy to a market economy played an important role in this, researchers say.

Parents have historically controlled the inheritance of agricultural land, finding good matches for your children. However, as the market economy began to spread, people stopped worrying so much about inheritance, and parental permission to marry became less important for children. Today, parents in almost all cases can provide the right to choose a marriage partner for one's children.

Modern Western culture allows women to play a significant economic role, have a career, earn money, which makes them more independent than ever before.

The spread of democratic freedoms and the right to choose also influences the fact that modern Western marriages are based on love. By the way, it is love, or rather its disappearance over time, that pushes people to divorce. New love allows you to enter into remarriages. Today, multiple marriages are not uncommon. Rather, it will be rare to have one marriage for life.

Miscellaneous rights

Just 50 years ago, partners in a marriage did not have equal rights. For example, in the USA right up to until 1970s Marital violence was not punished in any way in many states. Women could not get credit cards in their name and many other rights. They completely dependent on their spouses and, for example, did not have the opportunity to decide anything regarding the fate of common property.

Unions of equals

Total about 50 years ago Women and men began to officially have equal rights and responsibilities in marriage. Although the gender roles accepted in modern Western society are still may remain unchanged, more and more partners are advocating equal responsibilities in marriage.

For example, it is no longer uncommon for a man and a woman to do housework together, stand at the stove, take care of children, and at the same time both earn money.

Same-sex marriage

Legalization of same-sex love

Although there are still countries in the world where same-sex relationships are punishable by death (some countries in Africa and the Middle East), more and more countries legalize homosexual marriages. Since marriage today is based on mutual consent and freedom of choice, gay and lesbian weddings are a logical step. What does the future hold for the institution of marriage?

1. If you think that marriage to someone else would be much easier and more enjoyable, then you are most likely mistaken.

2. Most family problems are fixable. Indeed. Even the toughest ones.

3. The word “divorce” as blackmail is a dangerous weapon. If you shout in your hearts: “I’m filing for divorce,” you will hurt your partner much more than if you shouted, for example, “I’m so disappointed in our relationship!”

4. The expression “behind your husband like behind a stone wall” should be forgotten and erased from the lexicon. Marriage is a wonderful thing, but not without its difficulties. And you must overcome these difficulties together, without placing all responsibility on only one of the partners.

5. You can be sure that people cannot be changed. But this is a misconception. I married my husband when I was in my early 20s. If we had both not changed all this time, we would still be naive children who continue to insist that we need to live “as I said.”

6. You can have a happy family or an unhappy one. Everything is in the hands of both of you.

7. Life is difficult for each of us. The reasons are just different for everyone. If you have problems at work, they will become problems for your wife too. And vice versa. So after the registry office you can no longer be responsible only for yourself. On the other hand, sometimes sharing your problems with someone is the best way to cope with life in general.

8. People who are unhappy in marriage think that the problem is in the institution of marriage itself. They say it is outdated or artificial in itself. But everything that happens in your family is the result of your own efforts, not statistics. Why are you refusing to create something worthwhile?

9. Marriage is a lifelong learning experience. None of us approaches family life “fully armed.” If the situation gets out of control, it only means that you lack the necessary skills to overcome the problems. Develop them!

10. The struggle for power in the family is not only inevitable, but also necessary. None of us can build healthy and stable relationships unless we learn to resolve difficult issues and, in the right situations, take responsibility. Find out in which issues who will be in charge, through experience.

11. No spouse will be able to resolve your internal complexes and save you from childhood psychological trauma. If you think that your spouse will make you feel secure, then nothing will happen until you gain inner stability. You will have to continue to grow and develop - whether you are married or not.

12. Love is stronger the more trials you and your spouse have overcome. The more challenges, the easier it will be to enjoy the moments when you are doing well.

13. Marriage is a long negotiation about how you will conduct things. This is money. This is sex. This is raising a child. This is doing household chores. You can fight with each other, or you can cooperate. Cooperation, as practice shows, is much more productive.

14. Even the most stubborn among you can learn to back down. Take my word for it.

15. Most of the time when your spouse is angry or sad, it is not your fault. Just remember this.

16. Devotion will help you in difficult times. Didn't you promise that you would be together until death do you part? This is reason enough to hold on to your family with all your might. Even when it seems that there is no point in it anymore. Believe me, in most cases this makes sense.

17. Marriage cannot make you better or worse. Ultimately, it is your own choice.

18. Complaining and constant criticism are not the same as asking to change.

19. Dejection is one of the biggest threats to a marriage. I have seen many families that fell apart only because one of the spouses gave up ahead of time.

20. Divorce statistics tell us that every second family does not stand the test of time, right? Not really. It’s just that half of family people follow behavior patterns that are guaranteed to lead to failure. And realizing this simple truth can change everything.

21. Being good is easy. And it helps.

22. Say “thank you” to each other more often.

23. A happy family is when you don’t annoy yourself and don’t annoy your partner.

24. Any marriage encounters boredom, frustration, “iron” arguments and slamming doors. Your task is not to build tragedies on a universal scale out of this.

25. Keeping your heart open is not always easy.

26. Love asks many questions. But she also gives answers when you think you have made a mistake. Trust love!

27. Marriage is not an antidote to loneliness. Communication, intimacy and connections between spouses are not constant. Sometimes we work together. Sometimes this is not the case. It is important that your spouse can comfort you when you have made your own mistake.

28. It’s easy to drive on a well-worn track. Work, home, TV, dinner, sex. How do you spend your Saturday evening? Add variety.

29. A significant part of successful marriages is the result of the work of one of the spouses. Psychologists call him a “guardian.” You must have someone you can rely on in difficult times. A person who serves as a fulcrum for you. If your spouse is like that, bravo. But try to reciprocate his feelings. We all sometimes mope and feel sad - even if outwardly we seem strong and independent.

30. The best thing you can do during an argument is to simply stop it. Do not find out who is right and who is wrong. Just take a break and cool down. You will return to this problem later.

31. Some conflicts cannot be resolved through compromise. We cannot have half a child or buy half a travel package. The best way is for one to say yes to please the other and for the other to recognize that it is a gift.

32. Quarrels rarely happen for their true reasons. The place where you store the soap dish or the mess in the kitchen cannot cause a huge scandal. If this happens to you, then there are much deeper problems. Try to reach out to your partner and find out what's wrong when he cools down.

33. There is a big difference between “happy right now” and “living a long and happy life.” None of us can be happy 24/7. Thank God, we don't have to be happy always.

34. When you think to yourself that you should say something important but hesitate, it means that you really should.

35. Learn to make plans. Together. If you think you'll go on a great weekend sometime later, you probably never will.

36. One of you must go ahead. Be the first to ask for forgiveness. Be the first to compromise. Be the first to leave the room during an argument. Forgiving is also the first thing. Why shouldn't you become this person in your family?

Family is...the most difficult job: no days off, no salary and on a voluntary basis...

The Chinese Qion Han, who lives in India, can boast of having the largest family. He is currently married to 39 women, with whom he has 94 children. And the children, in turn, have already pleased Khan with 33 grandchildren.

The British couple, the Watsons, claim the title of one of the strangest families. When Barry and Anne got married, they became husband and wife in the full sense of the word. Imagine Anne’s amazement when her husband admitted to her that he could no longer exist in a man’s body! Having recovered from the shock, the woman agreed with him. Moreover, she supported me after the operation. In 2011, they remarried as a same-sex couple.

German men compare their angry lovers to fire-breathing monsters - dragons. After all, it is in German that there is an apt expression that can be translated into Russian as “food for the dragon.” By “food” we mean a bottle of perfume, a box of sweets, a bouquet of favorite flowers - in general, everything that an offending husband can use to butter up his offended wife.

Ancient Romans and Roman women were considered officially married after a kiss.

The legendary Kama Sutra is not at all such a frivolous book as is commonly thought. After all, today publishers print, and booksellers offer to buy only a fifth of it, dedicated to the joys of love itself. The remaining four parts tell a rather boring story about family values.

In almost half of the US states, cousins ​​cannot start families - this is the law. Although scientists have competently proven that the percentage of children with disabilities in such families is only slightly higher than among ordinary couples.

Sometimes love for family can make a person give up his lifelong passion. Charles Simonyi, who made two trips into low-Earth orbit as a space tourist, when he got married, promised his wife not to do it again. Moreover, he reinforced the promise with a clause in the marriage contract.

The phrase “Swedish family” has nothing to do with Swedes’ family values. The Scandinavians adhere to the traditional structure of “cells of society”, and the situation when several people cohabit under one roof as husbands and wives is found in many nations of the world.

Girls of one of the Australian tribes become family ladies immediately after birth: by this time grooms are already being found for them, after which a semblance of marriage is concluded.

According to the results of one of the surveys conducted by Russian sociologists, a third of husbands and wives, even disgusted with each other, are ready to save the family for the well-being of the child (children).

What doesn't happen in family life?! So people themselves create such situations that it’s hard to believe. And what don’t they come up with?! Judge for yourself!

Longest marriage

To have a long married life, it must begin early. For example, a certain Mr. Nariman and Mrs. Nariman were married at the age of five and lived together for 87 years (from 1853 to 1940). Lazarus Rowe and Molly Webber from the USA were officially married a year less (from 1743 to 1829). Mr. Rowe married at age 14. Manna Aliyeva has lived in the village of Vachi, Kulibsky district of Dagestan, for 132 years. Her husband is 130 years old and they have been married for 106 years.

Polygamist record

A 99-year-old grandfather died in the Lithuanian city of Mazeiki. The fact itself is ordinary, except for the venerable age of Felix’s grandfather and the legal incident that the deceased left behind. The fact is that in 1936 he married 17-year-old Philomena. They had five children, and in 1958, without divorcing, he married again. The marriage was registered in Riga with a certain A. Maksimova, and in 1977 in the Myazeikiai region he married for the third time - to K. Lyutkene, again preserving the first two families. After the death of the polygamist, all three families decided to lay claim to the inheritance, including a large house in Miažeika.

Highest number of remarriages

In the world of show business, there are known cases when the same people get married, divorced and remarried. Most often this is done for advertising, but repeating this maneuver more than 2-3 times is not recommended. But all of them are far from the couple from Seattle (USA). Jack V and Edna Moran married 40 times! Their first marriage was registered in 1937 in the USA. Then the celebrations took place, in particular, in 1952 - in Canada, in 1966 - in Egypt, in 1975 - in Great Britain...

But this is not a record either. Americans Ralph and Patsy Martin from Kaurtzite (Arizona) and another couple - Richard and Carol Roble from South Hempstead (New York) formalized their relationship 51 times!

Largest number of monogamous marriages

A true collector of marriages is the American Glyn Wolf. He has 27 wives. He first married as an 18-year-old boy in 1927, and the last time in 1970. He has, it seems to him, 41 children, 25 mothers-in-law, and he married two of his wives twice.

But the record for the number of marriages belongs to one lady who decided to remain incognito. She got married and divorced 73 times!

Harem of the King of Saudi Arabia

The harem of Saudi oil king Ahmed Amshari, who lives in the city of Riyadh, currently has 54 wives. Only four wives live permanently in his house; Islam no longer allows it. The rest are kept in villas he owns. Amshari bought most of his wives from their parents and brought them from Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. He likes the latter the most: “They agree to almost everything in bed.” His word can be trusted. After all, he was married 98 times!

Record-breaking scammer

But among those who were married to several women at the same time (this is called a bigamous marriage), the record is 104 marriages. That’s exactly how many times Giovanni Vigliotto, aka Fred Jipp, aka Nikolai Petrushko, married, etc., etc.... This man used fifty names. During the years 1949-1981, he committed a lot of fraud - in 27 US states and in 14 other countries. Finally, in 1983, the “record holder” was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison for fraud, 6 years for polygamy and a fine of 300 thousand dollars. He died in 1991.

30 women met... in court

33-year-old American Pierce was married to more than 30 women. And at the same time. He explained his long absences to each wife simply: the hard work of a traveling salesman. This whole smooth life collapsed one day when he forgot to meet one of his wives at the airport. She reported to the police that her husband was missing, and the FBI, having started a search, came across other women who declared themselves the legal spouses of Pierce... An annoying misunderstanding - well, just think, I forgot to meet my wife! - will now cost Pierce dearly: numerous lawsuits await him.

Neapolitan Don Giovanni

Neapolitan Giovanni Rovai, according to experts, is the holder of several absolute world records.

Firstly, he has 4,000 seduced women on his record. Handsome Rovai began his career at the age of 15, and although he is already 63 years old, he looks great and cares for five women at the same time.

Secondly, he never worked a day in his entire life. He believes that he was born to be a gigolo, and spends the money he receives from women to keep himself in great shape.

The groom is 91 years old

In 1999, 3,069 couples registered marriages at the Vinnitsa city registry office. Mendelssohn's solemn march sounded to them more than three thousand times. The young people rushed to register their marriage before the beginning of 2000, because, according to popular belief, it is impossible to get married in a leap year. Among the couples who decided to marry, the oldest groom was 91-year-old Vinnitsa resident N., his betrothed was 60.

The youngest groom was a 15-year-old gypsy boy who had to get married at all costs, because that was the circumstances of his bride. Unfortunately, in the same last year, 2895 divorces were registered. And here the reason is not only the difficult economic situation of young couples, but also a hasty, thoughtless approach to an important decision, which often determines the fate of newlyweds in life.

The oldest, the jealous one

A Macedonian from the city of Bitulya, Hristo Dmitrievsky, who was 101 years old, shot and killed his 73-year-old wife Stanka. The reason for the murder is jealousy. Hristo found his wife with her lover. The weapon of the crime was a hunting rifle, from which a single shot was fired.

100 year old newlyweds

The elderly groom, 103-year-old Harry Stevens, married 84-year-old Thelma Lucas. A “young” couple lived in one of the nursing homes in Wisconsin (USA, 1984). But in Cantley (Great Britain) in 1984, Winnifred Clarke (113 years old) married Albert Smith (80 years old), being the oldest bride in the world.

The couple switched genders

An amazing married couple Eric and Renata Shinega live in Austria (1990). The husband is a former woman, the wife is a former man. It’s interesting that Eric, being “her,” was very successful in alpine skiing, becoming an Olympic champion in his time.

Divided into cells

Newlyweds Karen and Justin from Ramsgate, England (1995) had an unforgettable wedding night. During the wedding feast, after heavy drinking, it became so noisy that the neighbors called the police. The police, without ceremony, took everyone present to the station. And the newlyweds spent their wedding night... in different prison cells.

Combined... on the screen

Technology today can do everything. She also brought variety to the boring process of marriage. A US resident, sitting in front of a video camera in New York, registered her marriage with her beloved, located on the other coast, in California (February 1995). And no violations: after all, according to American law, the judge must make sure that the bride and groom are in front of him, and he saw them perfectly well on the screen.