Tsar's Happy Occasion

E. Martin Russell

Description

The Tsar's Happy Occasion shows how the vast, ornate affairs that were royal weddings in early modern Russia were choreographed to broadcast powerful images of monarchy and dynasty. Processions and speeches emphasized dynastic continuity and legitimacy. Fertility rites blended Christian and pre-Christian symbols to assure the birth of heirs. Gift exchanges created and affirmed social solidarity among the elite. The bride performed rituals that integrated herself and her family into the inner circle of the court. Using an array of archival sources, Russell E. Martin demonstrates how royal weddings reflected and shaped court politics during a time of dramatic cultural and dynastic change. As Martin shows, the rites of passage in these ceremonies were dazzling displays of monarchical power unlike any other ritual at the Muscovite court. And as dynasties came and went and the political culture evolved, so too did wedding rituals. Martin relates how Peter the Great first mocked, then remade wedding rituals to symbolize and empower his efforts to westernize Russia. After Peter, the two branches of the Romanov dynasty used weddings to solidify their claims to the throne. The Tsar's Happy Occasion offers a sweeping, yet penetrating cultural history of the power of rituals and the rituals of power in early modern Russia.

Sujets

• Former Soviet Union
• Philosophie et théologie
• USSR
• Post-Soviet states
• Worship
• Soviet Union
• Russia
• History of Europe
• Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques
• Russie

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501754869
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

q THE TSAR’S HAPPY OCCASION

THE TSAR’S HAPPY OCCASION RI T UAL AND DY NASTY n I N T HE WE DDI NGS OF RUSSI A’ S RUL E RS, 1495–1745

R u s s e l l E . M a r t i n

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS AN IMPRINT OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London

A volume in the NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Edited by Christine D. Worobec For a list of books in the series, visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Frontispiece:The Russian Bride’s Attire, by Konstantin Makovsky (1889). Bequest of M. H. de Young. de Young/ Legion of Honor Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (used with permission).

Copyright © 2021 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2021 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Names: Martin, Russell, 1963 author. Title: The Tsar's happy occasion : ritual and dynasty in the weddings of Russia's rulers, 1495–1745 / Russell E. Martin. Description: Ithaca [New York] : Northern Illinois University Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2021. | Series: NIU series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian studies | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020034809 (print) | LCCN 2020034810 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501754845 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501754852 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501754869 (pdf ) Subjects: LCSH: Marriage customs and rites—Political aspects—Russia. | Marriage customs and rites—Russia— History—16th century. | Marriage customs and rites—Russia—History—17th century. | Royal houses— Russia—History—16th century. | Royal houses— Russia—History—17th century. Classification: LCC GT2756. M37 2021 (print) | LCC GT2756 (ebook) | DDC 392.5086/210947—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034809 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc. gov/2020034810

Cover illustration: Konstantin Makovsky,The Russian Bride’s Attire,1889. Bequest of M.H. de Young. de Young/Legion of Honor Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Used with permission.

Александре да Петру да Ульяне Романовымъ дѣтямъ Мартина

q  Co nte nts

List of Figures and Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiv Note on Dates and Names xvi

Introduction 1. “Time to Attend to the Wedding”: Origins and Traditions 2. “A Canonical Marriage for the Uninterrupted Succession to Your Royal Dynasty”: Royal Weddings and Dynastic Legitimacy 3. “And Unlike Previous Royal Weddings, There Was Not the Usual Royal Ritual”: Continuity and Change 4. “To Live Together in Holy Matrimony”: Orthodox and Heterodox 5. “To Serve without Regard for Place”: InLaws and Courtiers 6. “To See Your Royal Children on the Thrones”: Brides and Gifts 7. “Delight in Exposing the Old Methods of the Country”: Transfigurations and Parodies 8. “There Will Not Be Any Direful Reversions”: Heirs and Successors

1

14

42

76

101

134

163

189

215

vii

viii CONTENTS

Conclusion

Appendices241 Notes 255 Bibliography 315 Index 345

233

q  F i g u r e s a n d Ta b l e s

Figures 1.1. The wedding of Vasilii III and Elena Glinskaia 2.1. Tsar Mikhail Romanov visiting monasteries and churches before his wedding 3.1. Peter I and his first wife, Evdokiia Lopukhina 4.1. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich with church hierarchs 4.2. The proposed husbands of Elena Ivanovna, 1489–1495 5.1. The banquet at the wedding of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich 6.1. Tsaritsa Evdokiia Streshneva and the women of the court during her wedding 7.1. Engraving by Aleksei Zubov of the wedding of Peter I and Catherine Alekseevna (Catherine I) 8.1. Engraving by G. A. Kachalov of the fireworks display at the wedding of Peter Fedorovich (Peter III) and Catherine Alekseevna (Catherine II) A.1. Schematic of the relationship between the sixteenth century originals, 1624 copies, and Mikhail Romanov’s wedding ceremonial C.1. Select genealogy of the Daniilovich dynasty from Ivan III, showing marriages and lines of descent C.2. Select genealogy of the House of Romanov, showing the Miloslavskii and Naryshkin lines

Tables 2.1. Comparison of wedding rituals in manuscript descriptions and Kotoshikhin 3.1. Comparative lists of biblical and extrabiblical couples (and offspring) in wedding prayers and speeches

15

43 77 102 107 135

164

190

216

243

252

253

68

87

ix