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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1999-08 > 0933561535
From: "Andrew S. Kalinkin" < >
Subject: Re: Dobronega Maria Wladimirowna Kijewskaja
Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 06:38:55 +0400
Leo van de Pas wrote:
> Dear Havard,
> Europaische Stammtafeln, Schwennicke Volume II page 128, gives
> as marriage year 980. This first wife is called Rogned von Polock, in 989
> she became a nun and died in 1002. She had been married before, to a Jarl in
> Sweden, her father was Fuert/Prince Rogwoled/Rogwald.
> Vladimir then married the Greek widow of his murdered (980) brother.
> Then a strange date, 987/989, he married Anna of Byzantium. He married a
> fourth time, after 1011, a wife whose first name is unknown but apparently
> daughter of Kuno Count von Ohningen. And here we have four wives
> but of the children only three have a mother, the others are not clear to
> which mother they belong.
> 1st marriage
> Jaroslaw, born 980 (978), died 20 February 1054
> Wsewolod died 1015
> Predslawa
> then by 'unbestimmte Mutter' this means that one or two of these also could
> belong to wife nr.1
> Wjatscheslaw died 1010
> Swjatoslaw died in battle (after 15 July) 1015, was married and had a son
> born in 1002, this implies that if he is legitimate, he should be by
> the
> first wife.
> Boris, died in battle 24/25 July 1015
> Gleb, murdered (about 5 August) 1015
> Mstislaw died ca.1035/36
> Pozwizd, died after 1015
> Sudislaw imprisoned from 1035 till 1059, died 1063/65
> Stanislaw
> daughter married to Bernhard IV der Nordmark
> Premislawa died in 1015 wife of Laszlo of Hungary
> Maria born before 1012 (is her mother the Greek wife or Anna of Byzantium?)
> married Kasimierz of Poland
>
> The year 1015 certainly took its toll. Wladimir I died, one daughter and one
> son died, two sons killed in battle and one murdered!
Dear Leo,
The marital history of Vladimir is very complicated. You try to sort his wives
as a series of consequent marriages, but this makes no sense for pre-Christian
time. The sources clearly say that Vladimir lived and had children with several
women at the same time.
Here is list of Vladimir's wives from Nestor's chronicle (the order is how
Nestor lists them and not necessary chronological).
1) Rogneda, daughter of Prince Rogwolod of Polotsk. She refused to marry him,
so Vladimir took her by force, after conquerring Polotsk and murdering her
father and two brothers. They had four sons: Izyaslav, Mstislav, Yaroslav and
Vsevolod, and two daughters (they are not named, but later Nestor mentions
Yaroslav's sister Predslava). The story of Rogneda's marriage is placed under
year 980 in chronicle, but the chronology isn't very reliable and it is possible
that Nestor combined events of several years in one. Later Nestor said that
Rogneda's son Yaroslav died in 1054 aged 76, which makes him born ca.978.
After Vladimir's conversion to Christianity and dissolution of his pagan
marriages Rogneda became a noon and died in 1000 (not 1002).
2) "Greek woman", widow of his murdered (by him) brother Yaropolk. Their
relationship was short and left one son, Swyatopolk. If you belive Nestor,
she was already pregnant by Yaropolk when Vladimir took her, so Svyatopolk
was "son of two fathers". This happened soon after Yaropolk's murder in 980.
3) "Czech woman" (unnamed in Nestor but called Adela in some later chronicles).
She was mother of one son, Vysheslav. Vysheslav supposedly was Vladimir's
eldest son, so she was probably the first of his wives. As we know that Vladimir
spent several years before 980 in Scandinavia, it is not clear how he managed
to find a czech woman there. So probably more reliable is information preserved
by Tatischev (a 18th century historian, but he had in his possession ancient
chronicles which didn't survive), that Vysheslav's mother was a scandinavian
woman named Olava. This also fits information of sagas. called Vladimir's wife
Allogia.
4) "Another czech woman" (probably called Malfrida). She was mother of Svyatoslav
and Mstislav (again, probably an error). If this woman really was Malfrida, then
she died in 1000.
5) "Bulgarian woman" (called Mililika in later sources). She was mother of Boris
and Gleb.
After Vladimir's conversion to Christianity he repudiated all his former wives
and married princess Anna of Byzantium. The story of his conversion placed under
year 988, but an exact date of this event is uncertain, so this is probably why
ES cautioously dates this marriage 987/989. Anna died in 1011. No children is
attributed to this marriage in the sources written less than several hundreds
years later.
The German marriage for Vladimir after death of Anna was proposed by N.Baumgarten
(Le dernier marriage de saint Vladimir // Orientalia Christiana. Roma, 1930. Vol.
XVIII, N61). I have no idea what was evidence for this marriage, but it seems
generally accepted. Baumgarten attributed Maria-Dobronega, wife of Casimir, to this
marriage, but this attribution accepted less universally. Alternative hypothesis
makes Dobronega daughter of Yaroslav rather than Vladimir.
Now more about Vladimir's children. In addition to the list of wives and children
mentioned above, Nestor's chronicle contains more complete list of Vladimir's sons,
but this time without mothers. There are twelve: Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Svyatopolk,
Yaroslav, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd, Sudislav.
Vysheslav was appointed by his father Prince of Novgorod, but died there in 1010.
Izyaslav became Prince of Polotsk, the ancestral land of his mother. He died in
1001, but left two sons and his descedants kept Polotsk.
Svyatopolk was Prince of Turov during his father's lifetime. After Vladimir's death
15 July 1015 he inherited Kiev, but in the followed succession war lost to his
brother Yaroslav and died (or was killed) in 1019. After his death chroniclers on
Yaroslav's service appointed him Chief Villain of Russian history (in the same fashion
as Richard III), so he is officially known as Svyatopolk the Accursed.
Yaroslav was originally Prince of Rostov, after death of Vysheslav moved to Novgorod.
He won succession war after the death of Vladimir and ruled in Kiev until his death
20 February 1054. As he won, he is officially known as Yaroslav the Wise.
Vsevolod became Prince of Vladimir (on Volhyn), but then disappeared. Sometimes he
is identified with king Vissavald from Gardarike, one of two victims of infamous
Sigrid Storrada. They have the same name and are from the same country. Is this
enough to claim that they are the same? Who knows...
Svyatoslav was Prince of Drevlyans. He perished during the wars after Vladimir's
death. According to official version, he was murdered by Svyatopolk's order when
he attempted to flee to Hungary.
Mstislav was Prince of Tmutarakan, a Russian anclave on Black sea coast. He returned
to Russia in 1024, defeated Yaroslav in battle and then made peace with him, keeping
half of Russia on the left bank of Dniepr (with his capital in Chernigov). His only
son Eustafy died in 1033, and Mstislav himself in 1036, so after his death Yaroslav
reunited Russia.
Boris was Prince of Rostov. He was murdered 24 July (or, by some later sources,
12 August) 1015. The murder is, of course, attributed to Svyatopolk, although
Eimund's saga claims that he was finished by Eimund, leader of band of scandinavian
mercenaries on Yaroslav's service.
Gleb was Prince of Murom. He was murdered 5 September 1015.
About Stanislav and Pozvizd I have nothing to add.
Sudislav was Prince of Pskov. He was arrestedand imprisoned by order of Yaroslav
in 1036. In 1059 he was freed by Yaroslav's sons and retired to monastery, where
he died in 1063.
Hope this helps?
Andrew S. Kalinkin
Moscow, Russia
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