Ekaterina Nikolaevna Tumanik,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, M.I. Glinka Novosibirsk State Conservatory, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“If You Only Knew How Peaceful I am, How Blessed I am”: The Christian Death of Princess N.V. Shakhovskaya in Rome on December 10/22, 1847
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2024-3-20
The article features a letter from Princess E.M. Shakhovskaya to N.N. Sheremeteva. The letter relates to a tragic moment in the life of the family of Prince V.M. Shakhovskoy, well-known in the 19th century: the untimely passing of his daughter Natalia. The article sheds light on the circumstances surrounding the life, illness, and death of Princess N.V. Shakhovskaya, the family environment influencing her character, beliefs, and moral values. Considerable attention is paid to recreating the history of the Shakhovsky family, family environment, and family ties. On the basis of the epistolary heritage, many pages of family history, important for characterizing the everyday life of the nobility and the women’s world of the 19th century, were restored in detail for the first time. It also delves into the spiritual interests and Christian culture of the Shakhovskoy family. At the same time, the role of women of the noble class in the formation of Russian Christian spirituality is emphasized. The published letter presents a noble portrayal of a Russian Christian woman from the mid-19th century, reflecting the characteristics often seen in the progressive noble intelligentsia of the Russian Empire. The document enriches the available resources for studying the history of women in Russia, offering valuable insights into the morals and spirituality of Russian Orthodox women, along with their unwavering faith and vitality rooted in the Christian faith. At the same time, it is a source on the history of women’s everyday life in the 19th century – draws a circle of female interests and affections, cultural stereotypes of the era. What is important is the religious overtones that permeate the document and are evidence of a deep connection with God in the female identity of a certain highly educated noble nobility of the epoch.
Publishing: 28/06/2024
The article has been received by the editor on 19/05/2024
How to cite: Tumanik E.N. “If You Only Knew How Peaceful I am, How Blessed I am”: The Christian Death of Princess N.V. Shakhovskaya in Rome on December 10/22, 1847 // Historical Courier, 2024, No. 3 (35), pp. 252–267. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2024/ISTKURIER-2024-1-20.pdf]
Links: Issue 3 2024
Keywords: Christian culture; Christian death; spirituality; Russian nobility; everyday life; history of women; Russian woman of the 19th century; N.V. Shakhovskaya