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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCelebrating the Kyivan Princesses for Women's History Month
Val Stutz and Laryssa Horodysky, USUF Interns
Excerpt:
In celebration of Womens History Month, we are taking a look at some of the most famous princesses from Kievan-Rus and their achievements. Even though they came from Kievan-Rus, they married into other royal families across Medieval Europe and left their mark on the nations and kingdoms they ruled over. Their stories illustrate the presence of Kyivs royal heritage across Europe, as well as some of the contributions Kyivan princesses made throughout history.
Anna Yaroslavna (1032-1075)
Anna Yaraslavna was a Rus princess who became queen of France in 1051 after marrying King Henry I. She was the daughter of Kyivs Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise and Ingegerd, daughter of King Olof Skötkunung of Sweden. Both her parents insisted on giving her a good education; by age 18, under her mothers supervision, she had mastered Latin, Ancient Greek, and had acquired a basic knowledge of medicine. Anna was known across Europe for her beauty, literacy, and wisdom, and this caught the attention of King Henry I of France. After their marriage, Anna broke French tradition at her coronation ceremony; instead of conforming to tradition and taking her royal vows with her hand placed on a Latin bible, she stayed true to her Kievan Rus roots by using a Slavic Gospel, a sacred item which she brought from Kyiv. After her husband King Henry passed away in 1060, she became the ruling regent of France while their son Philip, the heir to the throne, was still a child. As the ruling regent of France, she founded a monastery dedicated to Saint Vincent in Senlis, near Paris. She had a reputation for being a pious queen, participating actively in grants to the church. Two sculptures were built in her honor which still stand in Senlis, and a medieval fresco depicting Anna, along with her mother and two sisters is preserved in Kyivs Saint Sophia Cathedral. Annas Cyrillic signature is the oldest surviving example of Old Ukrainian handwriting; it is seen on a French royal charter from the 1060s and is the only known example of a Capetian queens signature on parchment and the only known signature of a member of the Rurikid Dynasty prior to the 13th century.
Eupraxia Iryna of Kiev (1108-1172)
Born in 1108, Eupraxia was the daughter of Grand Prince of Kyiv Mstislav the Great and Princess Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden. She married the Byzantine co-emperor Alexios Komneros and took the name Iryna, becoming the Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Together they had one daughter, Maria. Eupraxia Iryna became a part of a circle of women intellectuals and studied extensively, notably studying the ancient physician Galen and translating some of his works into Russian. She is largely regarded as the first woman who wrote a treatise on medicine, in which she described the efficiency of medical salves that she formulated. She died in 1172.
Saint Olha of Kyiv (890 - 696)
Born in 890, Saint Olha was the first recorded female ruler of the Kievan Rus and the first member of the ruling family to adopt Christianity. She married the Grand Prince of Kyiv Ihor and together they had a son, Svyatopolk. After Prince Ihor was assassinated by the Drevlians, a neighboring tribe, and their son Svyatopolk was too young to rule, Olha became regent of Kievan Rus. Best known for avenging her husbands death, Saint Olha successfully defended the throne until her son was of age, even during the Siege of Kyiv in 968. As queen, she helped centralize state rule by establishing trade centers, and created hunting grounds, boundary posts, towns, as well as trade posts across Kievan Rus. Saint Olhas network of trade centers became a focal point in unifying the Rus people, and her border posts began establishment for the official boundaries of the kingdom. While she failed to convert her son to Christianity and, thus, Kievan Rus, her grandson, Saint Volodymyr, brought her ambition to fruition. Nearly 600 years after her death, she was named a saint because of her proselytizing influence and is the patron of widows and converts.
https://usukraine.org/content/celebrating-the-kyivan-princesses-for-womens-history-month/
niyad
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