Description
Book SynopsisFrom 1505 to 1689, Russia''s tsars chose their wives through an elaborate ritual: the bride-show. The realm''s most beautiful young maidensprovided they hailed from the aristocracygathered in Moscow, where the tsar''s trusted boyars reviewed their medical histories, evaluated their spiritual qualities, noted their physical appearances, and confirmed their virtue. Those who passed muster were presented to the tsar, who inspected the candidates one by oneusually without speaking to any of themand chose one to be immediately escorted to the Kremlin to prepare for her wedding and new life as the tsar''s consort.
Alongside accounts of sordid boyar plots against brides, the multiple marriages of Ivan the Terrible, and the fascinating spectacle of the bride-show ritual, A Bride for the Tsar offers an analysis of the show''s role in the complex politics of royal marriage in early modern Russia. Russell E. Martin argues that the nature of the rituals surrounding the selection of
Trade Review
A Bride for the Tsar-with its detailed descriptions, its use of previously unexamined sources, its beautiful illustrations and informative charts, and its well-thought-through argument about how politics functioned in Muscovy-should be on the reading list of every scholar interested in the early modern period.
* Russian History *
A monarchy is not just a form of government but also a family, and Russell Martin's pioneering study of marriage politics in early modern Russia reflects precisely that understanding."—Canadian-American Slavic Studies
* Canadian-American Slavic Studies *
Although Martin intends his book for specialists in premodern Russian history, it is accessible to readers whose knowledge does not exceed that of an undergraduate textbook. Moreover, he tells the story engagingly. Consequently, readers might not realize the complexity involved in reconstructing even the bare factual narrative, or the difficulty in gleaning usable information from laconic sources consisting of little more than names and dates. Three appendixes contain examples of such sources, in the original Old Russian. Readers who consult these sources cannot help but admire the careful research and imagination Martin brought to fruition with this monograph.
* Slavic Review *
Russell Martin's new book is a beautifully written and thoroughly researched examination of the monarchical politics of marriage in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Russia.
* The Journal of Modern History *
In this meticulously researched and nicely written study, Martin examines a little-known ritual in early modern culture. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
* Choice *
Russell E. Martin has produced an impressive study of early modern weddings among Russia's ruling family. Martin draws on his command of obscure sources and the history of this period to tease out a number of worthwhile, and occasionally surprising, insights. Not the least of his accomplishments here is that he has written a book that is fun to read.
* Slavic Review *
Readers who are fascinated by the minutiae of court rituals will find rich pickings in this volume[.]The author has conducted extensive archival research for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in particular, and he provides a thorough and meticulous account of these ceremonies.
* Slavonic and East European Review *
Table of ContentsCharts and Tables Acknowledgments Note on Dates, Names, and Transliteration Introduction 1. "It Would Be Best to Marry the Daughter of One of His Subjects": The Origins of the Bride-Show in Muscovy 2. "Without Any Regard for Noble Ancestry": Picking a Bride for the Tsar 3. "If You Marry a Second Time, You Will Have an Evil Child Born to You": Bride-Shows and Muscovite Political Culture 4. "To Assuage the Melancholy"—The Many Wives of Ivan IV 5. "Scheming to Be Rid of the Chosen Tsarevna": Conflict and Conspiracy in the Romanov Bride-Shows 6. "Worthy because the Tsar Adores You": The Last Bride-Shows and the Return of Foreign-Born Brides Epilogue Appendices A. Excerpts from the Chronograph of the Marriages of Tsar Ivan Vasil'evich B. Candidates at the Bride-Shows for Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, 1670–71 C. Gifts Given to Candidates in the Bride-Show for Fedor Alekseevich, 1680 D. Genealogies Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index
