General Notes

Grand Duke/Prince of Kiev, Saint

Sources: RC 143, 321, 361; Clarkson; A. Roots 241. 243; AF; Kraentzler
1162, 1170, 1171, 1172, 1233, 1603; Timetables of History; Through the Ages.

Roots: St. Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev. Died 15 July 1015. Married after 1011, a daughter (died 14 Aug 1014) of Kuno, Count of Ohinigen, by Richilde, dau. of Otto I, the Great. Married also Rogneide, dau. of Rognald of Polotzk.

RC: "The Great" of Kiev, Ukraine, Russia. Grand prince of Novgorod and Kiev. Baptized a Christian, 988.

K: Wladimir I le Grand et le Saint. Grand Duke of Novogorod, Kiew.
"Le Grand et le Saint." Grand Prince of Kiev or Grand Duke of Kiev and Novgorod. Ruled 980-1015. "980. St.Vladimir becomes Prince of Kiev."

Clarkson:
Vladimir succeeded his father through the process of fratricidal wars in which his brothers were slain. "He installed himself at Kiev (977), whence, by savage campaigns, he collected wives and tribute from most of the Dnieper Basin. Vladimir's chief fame rests on his forced conversion of the Russian Slavs to Christianity...During his reign, Kiev was repeatedly harassed by the Pechenegs; to hold them off, Vladimir built a sort of fortified line of new towns along the steppe frontier. At his death (1015) he left seven sons--of four or five different mothers--each ruling as prince in a portion of the Russian land; one of them, Yaroslav of Novgorod, was in open rebvellion, having refused to pay tribute to his father. Sviatopolk, who seized Kiev, promptly murdered three of his brothers, but was defeated in a four-year struggle by Yaroslav, who succeeded to the title of grand prince. Yaroslav, however, was forced to share the territory with another brother, Mstislav, who took the opportunity to move his residence from outlying Tmutorakan, beyond the Sea of Azov, to Chernigov, near Kiev. Not until Mstislav's death (1036) did Yaroslav "the Wise" venture to remove his seat from Novgorod to Kiev."

"Vladimir...who had won the throne of Kiev by the murder of his older brother, was the last major European ruler to abandon paganism." He invited envoys from the Khazars (Jews), the Volga Bulgars (Muslims), Rome and Greece to "sell" their religious beliefs. But "Vladimir and his simple warriors (were) unable to make up their minds in this war of words." Therefore, they visited the temples of the Bulgars, the Romans and the Greeks, not bothering with a visit to the Khazars. They found the mosques unclean and western Catholic worship tolerable, but they were entralled with the spendor and beauty of the Greek places of worship. Hence, they embraced the Greek Orthodox religion.

Vladimir was promised the hand of Anne, sister of the Byzantine emperor, in return for military aid and, despite some foot dragging by the emperor after the aid was provided, married the lady in 988. "In 990 Vladimir returned to Kieve with his imperial bride and a retinue of priests. Throughout his dominions the population was compulsorily baptized wholesale..."

RC says he had many pagan wives and concubines of whom these are known: (1) Adlaga; (2) Olava; (3) Malfrida, a Bohemian, d. 1002; (5) a Greek, widow of his brother, Teropolk; (6) N.N.(27-36), a Bulgarian; md (7) 989, Anna, daughter of the Eastern Emperor, the Basilius Romanos, d. 10011; (8) N.N. (321-33), daughter of Kuno, Count of Ohningen. K. calls the latter Rogneda de Oehningen. One AF record says born about 962.

According to my records, St. Vladimir had three daughters with Vladimirovna as name or part of name--all via different wives. Maybe he just liked the name. Maybe there are errors in the records.