Mstislav I of Kiev

Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great or Mstislav the Great (Russian: Мстислав Владимирович Великий, Ukrainian: Мстислав Володимирович Великий; February, 1076 – April 14, 1132) was the Grand Prince of Kiev (Kyiv, 1125–1132), the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex.^[1] He is figured prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name Harald, to allude to his grandfather, Harold II of England. Mstislav's Christian name was Theodore.

Biography[]

Mstislav was born in Turov. As his father's future successor, he reigned in Novgorod the Great from 1088 to 1093 and (after a brief stint at Rostov) from 1095–1117. Thereafter he was Monomakh's co-ruler in Bilhorod Kyivskyi, and inherited the Kyivan throne after his death. He built numerous churches in Novgorod, of which St. Nicholas Cathedral (1113)^[2] 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 Our Lady at Podil.

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 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 , thereby laying foundation for the centuries of enmity between his and Oleg's descendants. Mstislav was the last ruler of united Rus, and upon his death, as the chronicler put it, "the land of Rus was torn apart". He died in Kiev, aged 55.

In 1095, Mstislav married Princess Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, daughter of King Inge I of Sweden.^[3] 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
9. Rogneda, married
10. Xenia, married

Christine died on January 18, 1122; later that year Mstislav married again, to Ljubava Dmitrievna, 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[]

See also[]

• List of Russian rulers
• List of people known as The Great

References[]

External links[]

• His listing in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.