Bride-show

1882 painting of Tsar Alexis of Russia choosing his bride in 1648. Painting by Grigory Sedov.

The bride-show was a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country.

Notable marriages resulting from a bride-show: Theophilos and Theodora, possibly Irene of Athens to Leo IV the Khazar, three wives of Ivan IV of Russia, Peter the Great's mother Natalya Naryshkina.

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