Feodor I of Russia
| Feodor I Фёдор I Иванович | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Engraving of Feodor, 1580s | |||||
| Tsar of all Russia | |||||
| Reign | 28 March 1584 – 17 January 1598 | ||||
| Coronation | 31 May 1584 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ivan IV | ||||
| Successor | Boris Godunov Irina Godunova(disputed) | ||||
| Born | 31 May 1557 Moscow,Russia | ||||
| Died | 17 January 1598(aged 40) Moscow,Russia | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Irina Feodorovna Godunova | ||||
| Issue | Tsarevna Feodosia Feodorovna of Russia | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Rurik | ||||
| Father | Ivan IV of Russia | ||||
| Mother | Anastasia Romanovna | ||||
| Religion | Russian Orthodox | ||||
Fyodor I Ivanovich(Russian:Фёдор I Иванович) orFeodor I Ioannovich(Феодор I Иоаннович;31 May 1557 – 17 January 1598), nicknamedthe Blessed(Блаженный), wasTsar of all Russiafrom 1584 until his death in 1598.
Feodor's mother died when he was three, and he grew up in the shadow of his father,Ivan the Terrible.A pious man of retiring disposition, Feodor took little interest in politics, and the country was effectively administered in his name byBoris Godunov,the brother of his beloved wifeIrina.His childless death marked the end of theRurik dynasty,and spurred Russia's descent into the catastrophicTime of Troubles.
He is listed in the "Great Synaxaristes"of the Orthodox Church, with his feast day onJanuary 7(OS).[1]
Background
[edit]Feodor was born inMoscow,the son ofIvan the Terribleby his first wifeAnastasia Romanovna.Although he was the sixth and youngest child of his mother, he grew up with only one older brother,Ivan Ivanovich,because all his other older siblings died before Feodor was one year old. His mother also died by the time Feodor was three years old, and her death greatly affected his father, who had been very attached to his wife. Ivan the Terrible began to earn his sobriquet during the years of Feodor's childhood. He also took a series of other wives, but Feodor's only surviving half-sibling,Dmitry of Uglich,was 25 years his junior.
Feodor therefore grew up in the shadow of a distant father, with no mother to succor him, and only his older brother Ivan Ivanovich for family solidarity. He grew to be sickly of health and diffident of temperament. He was extremely pious by nature, spending hours in prayer and contemplation. He was very fond of visiting churches, and would often cause the bells to be rung according to aspecial traditionin theRussian Orthodox Church.For this reason, he is known to history as Feodor the Bellringer. He is also listed in theGreat Synaxaristesof the Orthodox Church, with his feast day onJanuary 7.[2]
Overall he was considered a good-natured, simple-minded man who took little interest in politics. By some reports and by one of the possible translations of his nickname (Блаженный) he may have had either anintellectual disabilityor alearning disability.He has been characterized as feeble-minded, possibly due to congenital syphilis, a disease that was ravaging Europe at the time.[3]These characterizations might be criticised as misinterpretations of his nature and behavior.
Marriage
[edit]In 1580, Feodor marriedIrina (Alexandra) Feodorovna Godunova(1557 – 26 October/23 November 1603), sister of Ivan's minister,Boris Godunov.Although the marriage was arranged by the Tsar and the couple knew nothing of each other before their wedding day, they went on to have a strong marriage. The lonely Feodor soon grew extremely close to his wife, to a degree that was unusual for that period andmilieu.Husband and wife shared a relationship of warmth and trust which was the support of Feodor's life for as long as he lived. He entrusted her to handle tsarist responsibilities, including signing decrees in his name.[4]
However, Feodor and Irina's marriage did not immediately produce children, and may not have even been consummated for some years. It was only in 1592, after almost twelve years of marriage and numerous attempts by the court to cure her perceived barrenness (at the time, the wife was always blamed for the infertility of a couple), that Tsaritsa Irina gave birth to a daughter, who was named Feodosia (29 May, 1592 – 25 January, 1594) after her father. Feodor and his wife doted on their daughter, who however died aged two in 1594. There were no other children from the marriage.Boyarfamilies rival to the Godunov clan attempted to convince Feodor to divorce and remarry, but he always rejected the idea.[4]
Reign
[edit]
Aleksey Kivshenko
In November 1581, Feodor's elder brotherIvan Ivanovichwas killed by their father in a fit of rage. His death meant that Feodor became the heir to his father's throne. He had never been considered a candidate for the Russian throne until that moment, and was not a little daunted by the prospect. One year later, in October 1582, his father's latest wife bore a son,Dmitry of Uglich,who was Feodor's only surviving sibling.
Ivan the Terribledied in March 1584, and Feodor became Tsar. Two months later, on 31 May 1584, he was crowned Tsar and Autocrat of all Russia atDormition CathedralinMoscow.
Feodor was only the nominal ruler: his wife's brother and trusted ministerBoris Godunovlegitimized himself, after Ivan IV's death, as ade factoregentfor the weak and disabled Feodor.[5][6]Feodor's failure to sire other children brought an end to the centuries-old central branch of theRurik dynasty(although many princes of later times are descendants of Rurik as well). Feodor was succeeded as tsar by Godunov. The termination of the dynasty resulted in theTime of Troubles.[7]He died inMoscowand was buried atArchangel Cathedral,Kremlin.
His troubled reign was dramatised byAleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoyin hisversedramaTsar Fiodor Ioannovich(1868).[8]
Foreign policy
[edit]Unlike his father, Feodor had no enthusiasm for maintaining exclusive trading rights with theKingdom of England.Feodor declared his kingdom open to all foreigners, and dismissed the English ambassadorSir Jerome Bowes,whose pomposity had been tolerated by Feodor's father.Elizabeth Isent a new ambassador,Giles Fletcher, the Elder,to demand ofBoris Godunovthat he convince the tsar to reconsider. The negotiations failed because Fletcher addressed Feodor with two of his titles omitted. Even after this setback, Elizabeth continued to address Feodor on that topic in half appealing, half reproachful letters.[9]She proposed an alliance between Russia and England, something which she had refused to do when it had been sought by Feodor's father, but he turned her down.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^GreatSynaxaristes:(in Greek)Ὁ Ἅγιος Θεόδωρος ὁ Πρίγκιπας.7 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
- ^Great Synaxaristes:(in Greek)Ὁ Ἅγιος Θεόδωρος ὁ Πρίγκιπας.7 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
- ^Sean Martin - A Short History of Disease- Plagues, Poxes and Civilisations (2019, p. 113)
- ^abNatalia Pushkareva,Women in Russian History: From the Tenth to the Twentieth Century
- ^Cathal J. Nolan,The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations,Greenwood, 2002, page 63
- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^Ehlers, Kai. (2009).Russland - Herzschlag einer Weltmacht.Pforte-Verlag.ISBN978-3-85636-213-3.OCLC428224102.
- ^Martin Banham,The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. p.1115.ISBN0-521-43437-8.
- ^SeeHume, David (1983).The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution of 1688.Vol. IV (1778 ed.). Indianapolis, IN: LibertyClassics. p. 376 – via Online Library of Liberty.
- ^Russia and Britainby Crankshaw, Edward, published by Collins, 126 p.The Nations and Britainseries
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