A diplomatic plot of the Livonian war times: scandalous wedding in Novgorod

In the first part of the historical essay, the author explores methods of secret diplomacy of the government of Ivan IV, based on the little-known documents.The secret diplomacy was widely used in the implementation of the project “Peace Capture” of Livonia: through marriage of Magnus, the Duke of Holstein, and Princess Staritskaya. The author analyzes the legal aspect of the rights of the groom to receive a dowry at the conclusion of a dynastic marriage according to Russian wedding tradition. The author systematizes the procedure for the betrothal ceremonies and church wedding on the basis of the four “standard” versions of the wedding ceremony adopted in Muscovy. Based on reviewed historical evidence, it is concluded that the flexibility of a medieval wedding ceremony allowed to combine “typical” ceremonies of betrothal and church wedding and it has been used by the government of Ivan IV during private negotiations with Magnus in the preparation of the wedding “discharge” (in the order of marriage). The Protestant faith of Magnus that does not recognize the Sacrament of marriage was a stumbling block in obtaining of legal rights to a dowry. Maneuvering in the choice of religion (Catholicism or the Orthodox) and in the order of marriage, Magnus unwillingly contributed to the fact that the Tsar’s clerks have created a number of documents which might incriminate him in a crime against Augsburg Confession: five intermediate versions of the wedding “discharge”. These documents indicated his willingness, in the end, to accept Orthodoxy. Comparative analysis and comparison of interim wedding discharges allow hypothesizing on the essence and course of secret diplomatic negotiations between the government of Ivan IV and Magnus on the eve of the conclusion of the dynastic marriage in Novgorod.