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47-458: Thietmar of Merseburg ( c. 1015) described Volodimer as "an immense fornicator" ( Latin : fornicator immensus ) until his marriage to 'a decent wife from Greece' ( Latin : a Grecia decens uxorem ) and adoption 'of the holy faith of Christianity at her instigation' ( Latin : christianitatis sanctae fidem eius ortatu suscepit ) around 988. He supposedly had a few hundred concubines in Kiev and in

94-539: A bag to Kiev, but the Varangians put him out of his misery with the thrust of a lance. Sviatopolk's cold-blooded reprisal earned him the nickname of the Accursed. The news of this triple murder reached another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav , Prince of Novgorod , who decided to go to war against Sviatopolk with the support from the citizens of Novgorod and the Varangians . The battle took place in 1016 not far from Lubech , near

141-524: A campaign against Kiev, Bolesław abruptly stopped a successful war against the German Emperor Henry II . So, it is unlikely that Sviatopolk had been present at his court since 1015, which is often supposed by the historians who consider Sviatopolk guilty of Boris and Gleb's murders. The I-S2077 subclade of Y-DNA haplogroup I-Z63 was sampled on an elite warrior buried in Bodzia Cemetery in

188-601: A complete facsimile edition had been published by L. Schmidt (Dresden, 1905). Thietmar's statement that the Gero Cross in Cologne cathedral was commissioned by Archbishop Gero , who died in 976, was dismissed by art historians, who thought he meant another cross, until the 1920s, and finally confirmed as correct in 1976 by dendrochronology . Thietmari Merseburgensis episcopi Chronicon : Attribution: Svyatopolk I Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich (also called Sviatopolk

235-624: A historical source on the Saxony during the reigns of the emperors Otto III and Henry II. It contains a detailed history of the Bishopric of Merseburg , and of the wars against the Wends (Polabian Slavs) and the Poles. The original manuscript was moved in 1570 to Dresden . When the city was destroyed by bombing during World War II the manuscript was severely damaged, and only a few folios remain intact. Fortunately

282-452: A large fine for him. Several authorities, notably Rydzevskaya ("Ancient Rus and Scandinavia in 9-14 cent.", 1978), hold that later skalds confused Vladimir's wife Olava with his grandmother and tutor Olga , with Allogia being the distorted form of Olga's name. Others postulate Olava was a real person and the mother of Vysheslav , the first of Vladimir's sons to reign in Novgorod, as behooves

329-666: A part called Eymund's saga ) which tells that Eric VI of Sweden married his daughter to a ' konung of fjord lying to the East from Holmgard '. This prince may have been Vladimir the Great. Rogneda of Polotsk is the best known of Vladimir's Varangian pagan wives. According to the Primary Chronicle , Vladimir wanted to forge an alliance with her father, prince Rogvolod of Polotsk, but after she refused to marry Vladimir, he raped and forcibly married Rogneda. Koptev (2010) hypothesised that

376-512: A rich burial from ca. 1010-1020 AD. All artefacts there indicate a strong relation to the Kievan Rus' ruling elite, so this man who probably succumbed to combat wounds, was closely related to Sviatopolk. The cemetery in Bodzia is exceptional in terms of Scandinavian and Kievan Rus' links. The Bodzia man (sample VK157, or burial E864/I) was not a simple warrior from the princely retinue, but he belonged to

423-409: Is attested in numerous (though rather late) Hungarian sources as the wife of Duke Ladislaus, one of the early Arpadians . Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar ; 25 July 975 – 1 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death in 1018, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of

470-403: Is believed that the only child of this alliance was Dobronega , or Maria, who married Casimir I of Poland between 1038 and 1042. As her father Vladimir died about 25 years before that marriage and she was still young enough to bear at least five children, including two future Polish dukes ( Bolesław II of Poland , who later became a king, and Wladyslaw Herman ), it is thought probable that she

517-544: Is closely related to the legend about the Chersonese princess and the prince Jaropolk's widow, all being raped by Prince Vladimir.' Norse sagas mention that, while ruling in Novgorod in his early days, Vladimir had a Varangian wife named Olava or Allogia. This unusual name is probably a feminine form of Olaf . According to Snorri Sturluson the runaway Olaf Tryggvason was sheltered by Allogia in her house; she also paid

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564-483: Is given by Vasily Tatishchev as Malfrida . Historians have gone to extremes in order to provide a political rationale behind such an alliance, as the Czech princes are assumed to have backed up Vladimir's brother Yaropolk rather than Vladimir. His children by these marriage were probably Svyatoslav of Smolensk, killed during the 1015 internecine war, and Mstislav of Chernigov . Some chronicles, however, report that Rogneda

611-476: The Annales Quedlinburgenses and others); the fourth book, comprising the reign of Otto III contains much original matter; while the remaining four books, which describe the reign of Henry II to the year 1018, are the independent narrative of Thietmar and, besides being the principal source for Saxon history during the reign of Henry II, contain valuable information, not to be found elsewhere regarding

658-611: The Dnieper river . Sviatopolk was defeated and fled to Poland . In 1018, he returned to Rus' , defeated Yaroslav with help from his father-in-law and seized Kiev. Bolesław of Poland and his army remained in Rus' for several months , but later returned to Poland, seizing some Cherven towns on the way. Meanwhile, the posadnik Konstantin Dobrynich and other citizens of Novgorod persuaded Yaroslav to go to war against Kiev once again. Sviatopolk

705-670: The Kievan throne, because their forefather had never ruled in Kiev supreme. They, however, retained the principality of Polotsk and formed a dynasty of local rulers, of which Vseslav the Sorcerer was the most notable. During his unruly youth, Vladimir begot his eldest son, Sviatopolk , relations with whom would cloud his declining years. His mother was a Greek nun captured by Svyatoslav I in Bulgaria and married to his lawful heir Yaropolk I . Russian historian Vasily Tatischev , invariably erring in

752-713: The Northern March from 983 until his death in 1003. Baptized in Halberstadt , Thietmar prepared for an ecclesiastical career. He was educated at the St. Servatius chapter of Quedlinburg Abbey and from 987 onwards at the Benedictine abbey of Berge in Buckau near Magdeburg . From 1 November 990, he attended the Magedeburg cathedral school , together with his relative Bruno of Querfurt . He

799-641: The Ottonian ( Saxon ) dynasty. Two of Thietmar's great-grandfathers, both referred to as Liuthar, were the Saxon nobles Lothar II, Count of Stade , and Lothar I, Count of Walbeck . They were both killed fighting the Slavs at the Battle of Lenzen . Thietmar was a son of the Saxon count Siegfried I the Older of Walbeck (died 990) and his wife Kunigunde (died 997), daughter of Henry I

846-537: The Accursed or the Accursed Prince ; Old East Slavic : Свѧтоплъкъ , romanized:  Svętoplŭkŭ ; c.  980 – 1019) was Prince of Turov from 988 to 1015 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1015 to 1019. He earned his sobriquet after allegedly murdering his brothers during his bid to take the throne. His actual responsibility is disputed by historians. The Svyatopolk-Mirsky family of Rurikid origin attribute their descent from Sviatopolk. Tsar Peter

893-666: The Bald , Count of Stade ( House of Udonids ). His father fought with Margrave Odo against Duke Mieszko I of Poland at the 972 Battle of Cedynia . At the time of Thietmar's birth, his family sided with the Ottonian duke Henry II of Bavaria ("the Wrangler") in his uprising against his cousin Emperor Otto II . Later, a balance was achieved; Siegfried became burgrave at Möckern and his brother Count Lothair of Walbeck served as margrave of

940-577: The Fowler , the three Ottos, and Henry II the Saint . As counsellor of the Emperor and participant in many important political transactions he was well equipped for writing a history of his times. The first three books, covering the reigns of Henry I and the first two Ottos ( Otto I and Otto II ) are largely based on previous chronicles most of which are still extant (e.g. Widukind of Corvey 's Res gestae Saxonicae ,

987-471: The Great recognized their descent during his reign. Sviatopolk's mother was a Greek nun captured by Sviatoslav I in Bulgaria and married to his lawful heir Yaropolk I , who became the prince in 972. In 980, Yaropolk's brother Vladimir had him murdered, and the new sovereign married his predecessor's wife, who gave birth to a child. Thus, Sviatopolk may have been the eldest of Vladimir's sons, although his parentage has been questioned . When Sviatopolk

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1034-458: The Kievan throne threatened his power. Boris presented the most danger to him because he had been in charge of Vladimir's druzhina (personal guards) and army, and enjoyed the support of the citizens. He sent the boyars of Vyshgorod to execute Boris. Boris and his manservant were stabbed to death when sleeping in a tent. The prince was discovered still breathing when his body was being transported in

1081-498: The Polish court. Unfortunately it can be interpreted ambiguously as far as the question of Sviatopolk's guilt is concerned. One place in his chronicle can be interpreted as Sviatopolk escaping from Kiev to Poland immediately after his father's death. But Thietmar states that Bolesław supported his son-in-law against Yaroslav in 1017, which is the date, according to the Primary Chronicle , of Sviatopolk's first defeat by Yaroslav. Preparing

1128-540: The Polish king Bolesław; the latter name is also rendered as Burizlaf in some sagas) as well as Boris. Therefore, it has been suggested that Sviatopolk ascended the throne after Boris's assassination and tried to fend off Yaroslav's attacks as well as to punish his agents guilty of Boris's murder. The chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg , who died in 1018, could have been regarded as the only contemporary and unbiased account of events, save that Thietmar's data may have been supplied by Sviatopolk himself during his brief exile at

1175-488: The absence of better sources, Anna's maternity remains a pure speculation. Vladimir had several children whose maternity cannot be established with certainty. These include two sons, Stanislav of Smolensk and Sudislav of Pskov , the latter outliving all of his siblings. There is also one daughter, named Predslava , who was captured by Bolesław I in Kiev and taken with him to Poland as a concubine. Another daughter, Premyslava ,

1222-562: The actualities of war. Upon the death of his parents, he inherited large parts of the Walbeck estates and in 1002 became provost of the family monastery, established by his grandfather Count Lothair II. On 21 December 1004, he was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Tagino of Magdeburg . In 1009, through the intercession of Archbishop Tagino, he became Bishop of the Merseburg diocese, which had been re-established by King Henry II in 1004. Thietmar

1269-483: The contemporary history and civilization of the Slavic tribes east of the river Elbe , as well as Poles , Hungarians and Bulgarians . The surviving manuscript shows ongoing amendments and insertions by Thietmar after the text's completion. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia criticizes the style and composition of the writing, as well as the indiscriminate inclusion of unimportant events, but nevertheless recommends it as

1316-660: The controversial records called the Genealogia Welforum and the Historia Welforum Weingartensis one daughter of Count Kuno von Oenningen (future Duke Konrad of Swabia ) by "filia Ottonis Magni imperatoris" ( Otto the Great 's daughter; possibly Rechlinda Otona [Regelindis], claimed by some as a legitimate daughter born from his first marriage with Edith of Wessex and by others as an illegitimate child) married "rex Rugorum" (king of Russia). He interpreted this evidence as pertaining to Vladimir's last wife. It

1363-460: The country residence of Berestovo . He is also said to have had pagan wives, the most well-known being Rogneda of Polotsk . Other wives are mentioned in the Primary Chronicle , with various children assigned to various wives in the different versions of the document. Hence, speculations abound. According to Tampere University scholar Aleksandr Koptev (2010), 'the legend surrounding Rogneda

1410-505: The eldest son and heir. On the other hand, there is no evidence that the tradition of sending the eldest son of Kievan monarch to Novgorod existed at such an early date. Those scholars who believe that this early Norse wife was not fictitious, suppose that Vladimir could have married her during his famous exile in Scandinavia in the late 970s. They usually refer an account in Ingvars saga (in

1457-459: The great shift to Christian names just then experienced in the Rus royal dynasty, an upheaval more than enough to explain all unprecedented names if they are Christian. It is curious that Yaroslav named his elder son Vladimir (after his own father) and one of his daughters Anna (as if after his own mother). Also, there is a certain pattern in his sons having Slavic names (as Vladimir), and his daughters having Greek names only (as Anna). However, in

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1504-441: The last century, the traditional account of Sviatopolk's career has been somewhat modified. It has been argued that it was Boris who succeeded Vladimir in Kiev, while Sviatopolk was still in prison. One Norse saga called Eymund's saga (a part of Yngvars saga víðförla ), with remarkable details, puts on Yaroslav the blame of his brother Burizlaf's murder. This Burizlaf, however, may be Sviatopolk (whose troops were commanded by

1551-425: The matters of onomastics, gives her the fanciful Roman name of Julia. When Yaropolk was murdered by Vladimir's agents, the new sovereign raped his wife and she soon gave birth to a child. Thus, Sviatopolk was probably the eldest of Vladimir's sons, although the issue of his parentage has been questioned and he has been known in the family as "the son of two fathers". Vladimir apparently had a Czech wife, whose name

1598-474: The story of Rogneda's revenge (found in the Laurentian Chronicle under the year 1128), namely her attempt to kill her husband Vladimir, was 'an obvious later addition to the original story of Rogneda, known in the Primary Chronicle under the year 980.' Koptev stated that " Shakhmatov is almost certainly correct when he suggests that the story derives from the later Novgorodian tradition, which asserted

1645-558: The superiority of the clan of Jaroslav 's descendants in comparison to Rogvolod's descendants ruling in Polotzk.' The Primary Chronicle mentions three of Rogneda's sons - Izyaslav of Polotsk (+1001), Vsevolod of Volhynia (+ca 995), and Yaroslav the Wise . Following an old Yngling tradition, Izyaslav inherited the lands of his maternal grandfather, i.e., Polotsk . According to the Kievan succession law, his progeny forfeited their rights to

1692-401: The willingness of European kings to marry Yaroslav's daughters as an indication of this imperial descent. Subsequent Polish chroniclers and historians, in particular, were eager to view Yaroslav as Anna's son. Recent proponents invoke onomastic arguments, which have often proven decisive in the matters of medieval prosopography , but these may be worthless in this case specifically because of

1739-537: Was Mstislav' s mother. Another wife was a Bulgarian lady, whose name is given by Tatishchev as Adela. Historians have disagreed as to whether she came from Volga Bulgaria or from Bulgaria on the Danube . According to the Primary Chronicle , both Boris and Gleb were her children. This tradition, however, is viewed by most scholars as a product of later hagiographical tendency to merge the identity of both saints. Their names point to different origins, indicating that Adela

1786-532: Was 28, thus putting his birth at 988. The forensic analysis of Yaroslav's skeleton seems to have confirmed these suspicions, estimating Yaroslav's birth at ca. 988-990, after both the Baptism of Kievan Rus and Vladimir's divorce of Rogneda. Consequently, it is assumed that Yaroslav was either Vladimir's natural son born after the latter's baptism or his son by Anna. Had Yaroslav an imperial Byzantine descent, he likely would not have stinted to advertise it. Some have seen

1833-459: Was Vladimir's daughter by the last marriage. There is also a case for Yaroslav 's descent from Anna. According to this theory, Nestor the Chronicler deliberately represented Yaroslav as Rogneda's son, because he systematically removed all information concerning Kievan ties with Byzantium , spawning pro-Varangian bias (see Normanist theory for details). Proponents allege that Yaroslav's true age

1880-581: Was concerned with the full restitution of his bishopric. A loyal supporter of the German kingship, he rarely interfered in political affairs. He died on 1 December 1018 and was buried in Merseburg cathedral . Between 1012 and 1018 Thietmar, while Bishop of Merseburg, composed his chronicle Chronicon Thietmari , which comprises eight books, that cover the period between 908 and 1018, the Saxon Emperors Henry

1927-442: Was considered by Vladimir such a prize that he allegedly became Christian (988) just to marry her. Thietmar of Merseburg , writing from contemporary accounts, mentions that Bolesław I of Poland captured Vladimir's widow during his raid on Kiev in 1018 but Anna is known to have predeceased Vladimir by four years. So historians long had no clue who this wife was. The emigré historian Nicholas Baumgarten, however, pointed out that in

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1974-550: Was defeated and fled to the steppes . Soon he returned with the Pecheneg army and attacked Yaroslav on the Alta River , but was once again defeated and fled to Poland, dying on his way there in July 1019. Sviatopolk may have been murdered by a descendant of Valuk Conqueror (Wallux dux Winedorum) who in 1018 helped him and his father-in-law Bolesław I in expedition against Yaroslav. During

2021-697: Was eight years old, Vladimir put him in charge of Turov and later arranged his marriage with the daughter of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland . The young princess came to Turov together with Reinbern , the Bishop of Kolberg (now Kołobrzeg ). Dissatisfied with Vladimir and encouraged by his own wife and Reinbern, Sviatopolk began preparations for war against Vladimir, probably counting on support from his father-in-law. Vladimir soon discovered Sviatopolk's intentions, however, and threw him, his wife and Reinbern in prison, where Reinbern died. Not long before Vladimir's death, Sviatopolk

2068-501: Was falsified by Nestor, who attempted to represent him as 10 years older than he actually had been, in order to justify Yaroslav's seizure of the throne at the expense of his older brothers. The Primary Chronicle , for instance, states that Yaroslav died at the age of 76 in 1054 (thus putting his birth at 978), while dating Vladimir's encounter and marriage to Yaroslav's purported mother, Rogneda, to 980. Elsewhere, speaking about Yaroslav's rule in Novgorod (1016), Nestor says that Yaroslav

2115-456: Was familiar with the works of Augustine of Hippo , but even more with classical authors like Virgil , Horace , Lucan , and Macrobius . Thietmar witnessed the struggles of the young Ottonian king Otto III and his mother Theophanu to secure their reign. He took some part in some political events of the time; in 994 he was a hostage in the hands of the Norsemen , and he was not unfamiliar with

2162-477: Was freed from prison. In 1015, Sviatopolk's retinue concealed Vladimir's death from him to prevent him from claiming the Kievan throne. When Sviatopolk learned of Vladimir's demise, he seized power in Kiev almost immediately. The citizens of Kiev did not show much sympathy for Sviatopolk and, therefore, he decided to distribute presents in order to win them over. Then, he decided to rid himself of three of Vladimir's sons, Boris, Gleb , and Sviatoslav, whose claims for

2209-615: Was not fully Bulgarian. Anna (March 13, 963 - 1011/12) was the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II ( r.  959–963) ) and the Empress Theophano . She was also the sister of Emperors Basil II Bulgaroktonos (the Bulgar-Slayer; r.  976–1025 ) and Constantine VIII . Anna was a Porphyrogenita, a legitimate daughter born in the special purple chamber of the Byzantine Emperor's Palace. Anna's hand

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