X-DIGEST. It won't be boring!: Royal bridesmaid viewing

It was a difficult time. I had to look through a bunch of girls and choose the most desirable one. It is now possible to conduct various castings and shows. And before, everything depended on the sovereign, because if he was not in good spirits, then they would send him to Siberia for almost anything wrong. How did the most important bridal show take place?

"Bride's Show"
Painting, Myasoedov G.G. 2nd half of the 19th century

In the 15th-17th centuries, the kings of the Muscovite kingdom had a method of choosing a future wife that is unusual today - a viewing of brides. Its participants were necessarily distinguished by their beauty, excellent health and virgin purity. There was fierce competition among the boyar families so that the final choice fell on their daughter. The results of these medieval castings influenced not only the fate of one or another eminent family, but also the historical and political development of Russia.

"Choice of a Bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich"
Painting, 1882 - authorartistGrigory Semyonovich Sedov.

In these centuries, the marriage of a Russian Tsar to a European royal was incredibly problematic. The first is her life far from her homeland, in isolation in some unknown and wild lands. Secondly, the kings opposed the adoption of Orthodoxy by their beloved daughters.

" Boyar wedding feast"
Painting,1883authorartistMakovsky Konstantin Egorovich -

Becoming relatives of noble Russian families was also not easy. Despite the apparent omnipotence of the tsars of the kingdom of Moscow, in reality they depended on the boyars. Wanting to place their daughter on the throne, each boyar family engaged in murky intrigues and fought for influence.

" Choice of the Grand Duke's Bride"
Painting, authorartistRepin Ilya Efimovich, 1884 - 1887

For the first time such a choice was made by Vasily Ivanovich, who later became Tsar Vasily III. He borrowed this tradition from Byzantium and from 1505 for two centuries it was used in Rus'.

At first, the sovereign sent his ambassadors to all corners of the kingdom to announce a special royal decree. It said that every young girl of the boyar family had to appear at “regional shows.” Among the numerous parameters for selecting brides were tall height, beauty and health. Candidates from large families were especially singled out. And of course they checked how politically reliable the bride’s family was.

"Down the aisle"
Painting, 1884, authorartistMakovsky Konstantin Egorovich

The number of participants reached 500 - 1500 beauties. The screening took place over several rounds. The judges were doctors and courtiers. This is where the time of intrigue began to promote your child and drag him into the finals. More promising candidates were removed from the competition by organizing conspiracies among boyar families.

The selection can be compared to the TV show “The Bachelor”. Only a few beauties made it to the finals - only a few dozen.

They were all dressed in beautiful clothes and lived in a huge beautiful house. Entering the royal chambers, each of the contenders bowed at the king’s feet. With his own hands, he presented the girl with a scarf embroidered with gold or silver thread and pearls.

"The future bride of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich"
Engraving from the early 1670s, by Maria Khlopova

"Bride's Choice"
Painting, author artistNikitin Sergey

While dining and privately communicating with the girls, the sovereign closely watched them. This helped him choose the most worthy wife for himself. Having finally made his choice, he presented his betrothed with a gold ring. It was in 1505 that Vasily III made a choice in favor of Solomonia Saburova.

"The first meeting of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with the hawthorn Maria Ilinichnaya Miloslavskaya"
Painting, authorartistNesterov Mikhail Vasilievich, 1887.

The remaining finalists either became the wives of influential boyars or went back home, carrying money and expensive gifts. Some were exiled to Siberian lands as punishment. It depended on what mood the sovereign was in.

"The wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna"
Painting, authorartistRepin Ilya Efimovich, 1894.

Bridal shows ceased to be fashionable in the last years of the 17th century. The Romanov family often liked to marry European princesses. Thus, the Russian state gradually influenced the policies of the West, and more specifically Europe.

To find a wife, Russian tsars of the 16th-17th centuries. Bridal shows were organized, to which only the most beautiful and healthy virgins were allowed. Boyar families competed with each other for the opportunity to marry off their bride. The fate of eminent families and even the course of the history of the Moscow kingdom depended on the results of this medieval casting.

It was not much easier to become related to the noble families of Russia. Although the Moscow tsars were considered omnipotent, in fact they were dependent on the boyar families. Here, marriage issues were constantly hampered by intrigue and power struggles.

The custom of viewing brides for the Russian monarch is widely depicted in the paintings of Russian artists. It's interesting that .

In the 19th century in Russia one could observe a real explosion of fine art. Many artists of that time are well known to everyone to this day, and some are undeservedly forgotten. The latter includes Grigory Grigorievich Myasoedov. He was born in the village of Pankovo, Tula province, and belonged to an old noble family. As a child, the boy read a lot and often drew. His father encouraged his interest in art in every possible way. The future artist began his studies at the Oryol gymnasium, where drawing was taught by the professional artist I. A. Volkov.

In 1853, Myasoedov entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Below is a portrait of Myasoedov by I.E. Repin.

In 1861, for the canvas “Congratulations of the Young People in the Landowner’s House,” Myasoedov received a small gold medal.

In 1862, Myasoedov graduated from the Academy of Arts in the class of historical painting, receiving a large gold medal for the composition “The Escape of Grigory Otrepyev from a Tavern on the Lithuanian Border.”

Having been sent abroad at government expense in 1863, Myasoedov worked in Paris, Florence, Rome and Spain. In 1869 he returned to Russia. In Moscow he painted the painting “The Spell,” for which he received the title of academician.

Myasoedov wrote a lot about folk customs and superstitions. For example, "Bride's Shower".

In the late 1860s, while abroad, Myasoedov came up with the idea of ​​organizing the Association of Itinerants. On December 16, 1870, the first general meeting of members of the TPHV took place, where a board was elected, which included Myasoedov. He became the author of the first charter of the TPHV and remained a permanent member of the board for forty years. On November 29, 1871, the first traveling art exhibition opened in St. Petersburg, which was then shown in Moscow, Kyiv and Kharkov. Myasoedov presented the painting “Grandfather of the Russian Navy” for this exhibition.

In March 1872, the 2nd traveling exhibition opened, where Myasoedov’s most significant painting, “The Zemstvo Is Dining,” was exhibited. This painting brought success to the artist. The film reveals the main task of Itinerant realism.

In a fairly short time, the artist painted the painting “Reading the Manifesto of February 19, 1861.” The film reveals another aspect of the same theme - the fate of the peasantry, deceived in its expectations.

In 1876, the artist moved to a farm near Kharkov. He became interested in gardening and gardening. From this moment on, one can note the beginning of a decline in his work. His attitude towards peasant life changes. Myasoedov was attracted to topics that revealed folk beliefs and traditions. The painting “Plowing” depicts an ancient pagan ritual that protects livestock from illness and death: peasants plow the village from evil spirits by harnessing naked girls to the plow.

The painting “Prayer in the Field for the Grant of Rain” conveys the emotional tension of peasants asking for the Almighty’s help in a dry summer.

In 1882-1884 the artist worked on the historical painting “Self-Immolators”. In it, the artist depicted the moment of self-immolation of Old Believers fanatics in a burning hut. The work “The Burning of Archpriest Avvakum” (on the screensaver) also echoes this theme.

In the 1880s, Myasoedov worked on landscapes. He created the painting “Road in the Rye”. The painting depicts the figure of a lonely wanderer among an endless rye field.

In the 1880s, Myasoedov’s landscapes received public recognition. He chose simple motifs and discreet views of the southern Crimea. Among the sketches there were also marinas.

G. Myasoedov “Bride's Bridal Shower”, 2nd half of the 19th century.

Fornicate a little, cheat a little, get married three times, no more... This is about the husband. Well, what about the wife? We talk about how married life was built in peasant Rus' in the so-called Middle Ages.

Skinny people don't marry

A. Arkhipov “Dvushka”, 1927

Skinny girls were not valued by our ancestors: they might suddenly turn out to be infertile or unable to bear a child. Thinness was considered tantamount to illness, and a sick wife was not needed in the household. And the well-being of the parents, since they could not fatten them, was questioned.

And there’s a mole on her cheek, and there’s love in her eyes...

It makes sense... Now a mole on the cheek is synonymous with beauty, but previously the owners of such (and in general, those who had some kind of marks on the body: moles, scars, bruises, not to mention serious injuries) were not married. A runny nose or hoarseness could also influence the matchmakers’ opinion, so the girl was urgently put in order before their arrival.

Was healthy, became thin

F. Zhuravlev “Before the crown”, 1874

However, it also happened the other way around: a healthy bride was “spoilt” - as, for example, in the Romanov royal family. When Mikhail Fedorovich set his sights on the poor noblewoman Maria Kholopova as his wife, an unexpected illness happened to her: “she was vomiting and breaking her insides and was swollen. And then she vomited.” The would-be bride and her relatives were exiled to Tobolsk. And the girl was only given sweets with stale whipped cream and sour cream at the suggestion of the groom’s mother, nun Martha.

Dress up for going out

F. Sychkov “On a visit”, 1940

If a girl could not leave the walls of her parents’ house alone, then a married woman had no right to go anywhere, even to church, without the permission of her husband. But, if she did leave the family nest, then in full dress: with furrowed eyebrows, rouge and whitening, “moreover, so rudely and noticeably that it seems as if someone rubbed a handful of flour over their face and painted their cheeks red with a brush” (more about the standards of female beauty of the Middle Ages - in the article “Women of Muscovy of the 16th-17th centuries in the descriptions of contemporaries”).

The wives of noble people rode in closed carriages covered with red taffeta, where they “sat with the splendor of goddesses.” The horse was decorated with fox tails. Servants were running nearby.

Quilting - alone

N. Kasatkin “Who?”, 1897

“Domostroy” (a set of rules and instructions of the 16th century) introduced some restrictions into familiar relationships. It was recommended to beat your wife “not in front of people, to teach her in private” - “beat her politely with a whip, holding her by the hands.” There was also another call to humanity in the collection: “don’t beat me by sight, don’t hit me in the heart with a fist, or a kick, or a staff, or anything of iron or wood.” Because whoever “beats like this from the heart or from the pain, many stories come from him: blindness and deafness, and a dislocated arm and leg, and a finger, and headaches, and dental disease, and among pregnant wives and children, damage occurs in the womb.” Foreigners were amazed that with all this, “Russian wives saw heartfelt love in frequent beatings and scourging, and in their absence - dislike and dislike of their husbands towards themselves.”

Spending the night with a strange woman is fornication, not adultery.

K. Trutovsky “In the hayloft”, 1872

If a married man spends the night with another woman, it is not adultery, but merely fornication. An adulterer was someone who had a long-term relationship with someone else's wife or a mistress and children from her. True, other options were also considered - for example, in “Metropolitan Justice” (XII century) it was told about two wives living with one husband, and in “The Tale of the Assassination of Daniel of Suzdal and the Beginning of Moscow” (XVII century) two “sons of red "Boyar Kuchka "lived with the princess in demonic lust, bound by Sotonin's law, oppressing his body with prodigal love lust, defilement in adultery." The infidel was fined in favor of the church.

A married woman caught in fornication should be beaten with a whip, and then spend several days in a monastery, eating water and bread. After which her husband beats her a second time for neglecting her work at home. The husband who forgave the harlot should have been punished.

For the guest - vodka and a kiss

B. Kustodiev “Christification”, 1916

Dessert awaited the dear guest after the feast. As a sign of special respect and love, the owner’s magnificently dressed wife came out to him and personally served him a glass of vodka. This is how the Holstein ambassador Adam Olearius, who visited Count Lev Shlyakhovsky in 1643, describes it. “His wife came out to us, very beautiful in face... and accompanied by a servant carrying a bottle of vodka and a glass. At the entrance, she first bowed her head in front of her husband, and then in front of me, ordered a glass to be poured, sipped it and then brought it to me, and so on up to three times. After this, the Count wished me to kiss her. Not being accustomed to such an honor, I kissed only her hand. He, however, wanted me to kiss her on the mouth as well. Therefore, out of respect for a higher person, I had to accept this honor, consistent with their customs.”

Snitching is a venial sin

“Nowhere, it seems, except Russia, is there at least one type of incest that has acquired the character of an almost normal everyday phenomenon, receiving the corresponding technical name - incestuousness,” wrote Vladimir Nabokov. This phenomenon, when the father-in-law lived with his son’s wife, was widespread in Russian villages. He was helped by the long absences of his husbands who went to work as soldiers or to work. The father of the family almost always succeeded in persuading or threatening to persuade the “young” woman who remained in someone else’s house to cohabitate. The people did not condemn this matter; they treated it with understanding and said: “He loves his daughter-in-law. He lives with her as if he were his wife, he liked her.”

Tired of your wife - go to a monastery

V. Maksimov “Family division”, 1876

If family life has completely gone wrong and there is no hope for peace between the spouses, then one of them may go to a monastery. If a husband leaves and his wife marries again, the deceased can become a clergyman, even if he previously brewed beer. If the wife is barren, then, having sent her to a monastery, the man has the right to marry again after six weeks.

Starting a family for the fourth time was definitely considered illegal. The marriage was subject to immediate dissolution, and the priest who married such a couple, even out of ignorance, was deprived of his rank.

The code of norms for “dissolution” (divorce), which is part of the “Charter of Prince Yaroslav” (XIII century), gave reasons for divorce from a wife: in the case of adultery, confirmed by witnesses; due to communication with strangers without permission; for an attempt on the life of her husband or failure to report a threat thereto. The wife, in turn, could “file for divorce” if the husband “slanderously accused her of treason” (without evidence). The reason could also be the long-term unknown absence of the other half - when the whereabouts are unknown.

The fourth marriage is illegal

K. Makovsky “Wedding feast”, 1883

Saint Gregory the Theologian said: “The first marriage is the law, the second is the forced forgiveness of weakness for the sake of humanity, the third is a crime of law, the fourth is dishonesty, since the life of a swine is.” Nevertheless, widowers and divorcees got married for the third and fourth time. The Church, although it condemned third marriage, still believed that it was better than living in sin. But starting a family for the fourth time was definitely considered illegal. The marriage was subject to immediate dissolution, and the priest who married such a couple, even out of ignorance, was deprived of his rank.

If you want a wife, curtain the icon

By fulfilling marital duty, even though it was a legal matter, they preferred not to offend the Lord. Before getting down to business, the pectoral cross was removed. If icons with the faces of saints hung in the room where intercourse took place, they were carefully hung. On this day, it was preferable not to attend church, and if an irresistible need arose - to wash thoroughly and change into clean clothes.

Widow - head of the family

A woman who lost her husband and never remarried automatically received all the rights that she was deprived of in marriage. She managed the property, became a full-fledged mistress in her house and the head of the family, if there was one. Widows were respected in society.

V. Volkov. M. Gorky.

Gorky once confessed: “I was very unhappy with women. Those whom I loved did not love me.” Of course, the writer was lying. It’s not for nothing that he wrote the words: “The smartest thing a person has achieved is to love a woman.”

Life decreed that his common-law wife and secretary was one of the most famous women of the first half of the 20th century, the “Russian Mata Hari,” Maria Ignatievna Zakrevskaya. She was born in Ukraine in 1891 and became Countess Benckendorff in 1911, marrying a famous Russian diplomat. After the death of the latter, she became the wife of Baron Nikolai von Budberg-Benningshausen, the mistress of the British spy Bruce Lockhart. After the arrest of the NKVD, she found herself working in the editorial office of World Literature, and there Korney Chukovsky introduced her to Maxim Gorky. The writer was a quarter of a century older than the adventurer, but although Zakrevskaya did not officially marry him, they lived in a civil marriage for 16 years.

The plot developed as in a real melodrama. In 1920, the famous English writer Herbert Wells came to Russia and stayed with Gorky. Thus arose a love triangle, which was eventually resolved by Mary's departure to Britain.

And in 1968, when the 100th anniversary of Gorky’s birth was celebrated, Maria Zakrevskaya visited Moscow. She was almost 80 years old, and few would recognize her as one of history's most intriguing figures.