Mstislav I of Kiev

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Vladimirovich.
Mstislav I Monomakh
Portrait in the Tsarsky titulyarnik (1672)
Grand Prince of Kiev
Reign1125–1132
PredecessorVladimir II
SuccessorYaropolk II
BornFebruary 1076
Turov
Died14 April 1132(1132-04-14) (aged 55)
Kiev
SpouseChristina Ingesdotter of Sweden
Liubava Dmitrievna Zavidich
IssueIngeborg of Kiev
Malmfred of Kiev
Dobrodeia of Kiev
Vsevolod of Pskov
Maria Mstislavna of Kiev
Iziaslav II of Kiev
Rostislav of Kiev
Sviatopolk of Pskov
Rogneda
Xenia
Vladimir III of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev
DynastyRurik
FatherVladimir II Monomakh
MotherGytha of Wessex

Mstislav I Vladimirovich Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Мьстиславъ Володимѣровичъ Мономахъ, romanized: Mĭstislavŭ Volodiměrovičŭ Monomakhŭ;[a] Christian name: Fedor;[1][2] February 1076 – 14 April 1132), also known as Mstislav the Great, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1125 until his death in 1132. After his death, the state began to quickly disintegrate into rival principalities.

He was the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex.[3] He is figured prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name Harald, to allude to his grandfather, Harold II of England.

Biography[edit]

Mstislav was born in Turov. As his father's future successor, he reigned in Novgorod from 1088 to 1093 and (after a brief stint at Rostov) from 1095 to 1117. Thereafter, he was Monomakh's co-ruler in Belgorod Kievsky, and inherited the Kievan throne after his death. He built numerous churches in Novgorod, of which St. Nicholas Cathedral (1113),[4] and the cathedral of St Anthony Cloister (1117) survive to the present day. Later, he would also erect important churches in Kiev, notably his family sepulchre at Berestovo and the church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Podol.[5]

St Nicholas Cathedral, built by Mstislav I near his palace at Yaroslav's Court, Novgorod, contains 12th-century frescoes depicting his illustrious family

Mstislav's life was spent in constant warfare with the Cumans (1093; 1107; 1111; 1129), Estonians (1111; 1113; 1116; 1130), Lithuanians (1131), and the princedom of Polotsk (1127; 1129). In 1096, he defeated his uncle Oleg of Chernigov on the Koloksha River, thereby laying foundation for the centuries of enmity between his and Oleg's descendants. Mstislav was the last ruler of the united state of Rus', and upon his death, as the chronicler put it, "the land of Rus was torn apart". He died in Kiev, aged 55.

After his death, the state began to quickly disintegrate.[6] At the time of Monomakhs's death, there had been only two main groups in the princely family, the Monomakhovichi and Olgovichi, but as the family proliferated, it broke up into a number of local branches and sub-branches.[7]

Family[edit]

In 1095, Mstislav married Princess Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, daughter of King Inge I of Sweden.[8] They had many children:

  1. Ingeborg of Kiev, married Canute Lavard of Jutland, and was mother to Valdemar I of Denmark
  2. Malmfred, married (1) Sigurd I of Norway; (2) Eric II of Denmark
  3. Eupraxia, married Alexius Comnenus, son of John II Comnenus
  4. Vsevolod of Novgorod and Pskov
  5. Maria Mstislavna of Kiev, married Vsevolod II of Kiev
  6. Iziaslav II of Kiev
  7. Rostislav of Kiev
  8. Sviatopolk of Pskov
  9. Rogneda, married Yaroslav of Volhynia
  10. Xenia, married Briachislav of Izyaslavl

Christine died on January 18, 1122; later that year Mstislav married again, to Liubava Dmitrievna Zavidich, the daughter of Dmitry Saviditsch, a nobleman of Novgorod. Their children were:

  1. Vladimir III Mstislavich (1132–1171)
  2. Euphrosyne of Kiev, (c. 1130 – c. 1193) married King Géza II of Hungary in 1146.

Through Euphrosyne, Mstislav is an ancestor of both Philippa of Hainault and King Edward III of England, hence of all subsequent English and British monarchs. Through his mother Gytha, he is part of a link between Harold II of England and the modern line of English kings founded by William the Conqueror, who deposed him.

Ancestry[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Russian: Мстислав Владимирович Великий; Ukrainian: Мстислав Володимирович Великий

References[edit]

  1. ^ Biographischer Index Rußlands und der Sowjetunion (in Russian). Walter de Gruyter. 31 October 2011. p. 1417. ISBN 978-3-11-093336-9.
  2. ^ Litvina, A. F.; Uspensky, F. B. (2006). Выбор имени у русских князей в X—XVI вв. Династическая история сквозь призму антропонимики. Indrik. p. 581. ISBN 5-85759-339-5.
  3. ^ Philip Line, Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130-1290, (Brill, 2007), 597.
  4. ^ George Heard Hamilton, The Art and Architecture of Russia, (Yale University Press, 1983), 43.
  5. ^ Dimnik, Martin (1994). The dynasty of Chernigov. 1054-1146. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. p. 389. ISBN 0888441169.
  6. ^ Fennell, John (13 October 2014). The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-317-87314-3.
  7. ^ Auty, Robert; Obolensky, Dimitri (1976). Companion to Russian Studies: Volume 1: An Introduction to Russian History. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-521-28038-9.
  8. ^ The Kiev State and Its Relations with Western Europe, F. Dvornik, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 29 (1947), 41.

External links[edit]

Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great
Born: 1 June 1076 Died: 14 April 1132
Regnal titles
Preceded by Prince of Novgorod
1088–1093; 1095-1117 		Succeeded by
Prince of Rostov
1093–1095
Preceded by Grand Prince of Kiev
1125–1132 		Succeeded by
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