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.
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