Discussions about Russian History > Imperial Russian History
"Marriages" with other dynasties
cebi26:
Always is said that be part of the Romanov dynasty was something of great importance and prestige, but in history, the monarchies placed as the "center" of Europe were England, France or Spain, And, from what I saw, there weren't many marriages between Romanov princes and princesses with members of those empires, which surprised me. How was the prestige of the Romanovs in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? Why not happened marriages agreements between Russia and the rest of these countries?
LisaDavidson:
Russia had some unique problems during this period that defined it as a nation but also limited the marital choices of Romanov dynasts. Beginning with Tsar Michael, the power in the country rested with the boyar class, so Michael's and Alexis' children all married other Russians from the boyar class. Peter the Great was also married off into that class, but rebelled. He shut away his boyar wife and married a Lithuanian peasant. Peter was succeeded by the peasant, 2 of his grandsons, his daughter, and a niece. One of the grandsons, Peter III, married Catharine the Great, and her descendants tended to marry into other European dynasties.
The primary reason for the lack of intermarriage with other dynasties was Russia's extreme xenophobia, which was even evident in the reign of Nicholas II when his wife of 20 years was referred to as "the German woman".
Vecchiolarry:
Hi,
Going way back, we do have Anna of Kiev marrying Henry I of France in the 11th century.
Their line did carry on the Capets & the Valois, but I'm not sure about the Bourbons...
Also, in reverse, we have Sophia Palaeologue coming from Byzantium and marrying Ivan III (the Great) in the 15th century...
Anna Pavlovna married William II of the Netherlands in the 19th century..
and
Maria Alexandrovna married Alfred of Edinburgh in the 19th century also...
I don't know of any Russian - Spanish marriages??
Larry
Robert_Hall:
Hi Larry. The french connection is a stretch, but it is there. The Valois went to the Bourbons Vesuvius Henri IV, son-in-law of Henri II. So, through his wife, the connection remained. Still does, I imagine, in the Orleans. . Like I said, it is a stretch. BTW way, the actual marriage with Henri was BEFORE the Great Schism,.
After that [1054] Orthodox= Catholic marriages were unlikely and difficult.. They did happen at times, but usually without the Pope's approval.
Someone once mentioned a Russia/Hapsburg connection but I do not know the details. Never really looked into it.
Kalafrana:
The Bourbons descended from the Capets. As from 1328, the French throne passed exclusively down the male line. The later Valois were not good breeders (with a distinct tendency for men to die without issue), so that on the death of Henri III in 1588, the heir through the male line was Henri IV, who was related to him in the male line through Louis IX, who had died in 1270.
Russia was not a major power until the reign of Peter the Great, so the major European dynasties would not have taken much interest in marriages with the Romanovs and their predecessors. After that, the Russian throne was pretty unstable (Ivan VI was deposed, Peter III and Paul were murdered), quite apart from the religious issue.
Ann
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