Agafia Svyatoslavna of Rus (Polish — Agafia Rurykowiczówna) (born in the 1190s — † after 31.08.1248), Princess of Mazovia by her marriage (from 1207) to Prince of Mazovia Konrad I.
Father
- Svyatoslav Igorevich of Volyn
Mother
- Yaroslava Rurikovna
Biography
Agafia was born between 1190 and 1195 in the family of the Prince of Volyn Svyatoslav Igorevich and the Princess of Kiev Yaroslava Rurikovna [2, p. 492]. Between 1207 - 1210 she married Prince of Mazovia Konrad I, future High Duke of Poland. Apparently, the marriage was a dynastic one: Agafia's father sought to consolidate an alliance with Leszek the White, Konrad’s brother. At that time, the relationships between Leszek the White and princes of Galicia–Volhynia were quite tight, but complex. Leszek supported Roman Mstislavich in his struggle for Galich in 1199, but later became his rival. There is no consensus in historiography on the reasons for their conflict which led finally to the Roman Mstislavich’s death in 1205 in the Battle of Zavikhost. While analysing Roman’s possible campaign in Saxony, A. V. Mayorov summarized the difference in the views on this issue expressed by V. T. Pashuto and Polish historian B. Wlodarsky and interpreted the possible reasons for this discrepancy [3].
Nevertheless, the marriage of Agafia and Konrad was intended to tighten the alliance between her father Svyatoslav and the princes of Krakow. Having arrived to Poland, Agafia Svyatoslavna started to take an active part in her husband’s politics and his struggle for the Krakow throne after Leszek the White’s death in 1227 [I, p. 720] The struggle was intense, with varied success [6, p. 208-211]; in order to strengthen his power in Krakow, Konrad entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Order. Seemingly, it was Agafia who first expressed the idea of inviting the crusaders to Poland to secure Prussian borders. [5, p. 10; 7, p. 45]. Jan Dlugosz described the visit of the Landmeister of the Order, Hermann von Balk to the Prince of Mazovia [II]. There is also information about Agafia’s participation in the assemblies of princes that took place in 1239-1241 [III, No. 394, 404, 406; 6. p. 10].
Another event to which Agafia Svyatoslavna related is the marriage of her son Casimir to the daughter of Henry II the Pious. Casimir’s teacher, a Dominican Jan Heron was publicly hanged for the toxic criticism of Agafia’s daughter-in-laws and of the policy of Prince Konrad Mazowiecki. The body has remained in the Plock Cathedral for several days. Konrad and Agafia were condemned, and Mazovia was placed under an interdict. Later, however, Konrad and Agafia managed to obtain pardon [II].
The sons of Agafia and Konrad Boleslaw and Siemowit were married to the daughters of the Galicia-Volynia princes.
The exact date of the Agafia’s death remains unknown.
Children
- Boleslaw of Mazovia (c. 1210-17 April 1248), Duke Dobrzyń (1227-1229, 1247-1248), Sandomierz (1229-o1232), Sieradz (1233-1234), Plock (1234-1248) and Mazowiecki (1247-1248) 1248)
- Casimir of Kuyavia (between 1210 and 1213–14 December 1267), Duke of Kuyavia (1233–1267), Sieradz (1247–1261), Łęczyca (1247–1267) and Dobrzyń (1248–1267)
- Siemowit of Mazovia (c. 1213–24 June 1262), Duke of Mazovia (1248–1262)
- Ziemomysł (between 1216 and 4 July 1228 — between 10 July and 18 September 1241)
- Mieszko (born 1235– † in infancy)
- Eudoxia (1215–1240), wife of Count Dietrich I of Brehna and Wettin
- Ludmila (born before 1225)
- Salomae (between 1220 and 1225 – after 30 August 1268), nun
- Judith of Mazovia (between 1222 and 1227 - December 4 between 1257 and 1263), married to Duke Mieszko II the Fat of Opole, and later to Duke Henry III the White of Wrocław
- Dubrawka (about 1230-1265)
Information
An image of Agafia and Konrad with their sons has been preserved on the golden Chalice and paten of Konrad I that once belonged to Plock chair (so-called ‘Patena płocka, fundacji Konrada I Mazowieckiego’).
Sources
I. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei. T. 2. Ipat'evskaia letopis'. M., 1998.
II. Shchaveleva N.I. Drevniaia Rus' v Pol'skoi istorii. Iana Dlugosha (Knigi I-VI). Tekst, perevod, kommentarii / Pod red. i s dopolneniiami A.V. Nazarenko M., 2004.
III. Zbiór ogólny przywilejów i spominków Mazowieckich. Т. 1. Warszawa, 1919.
Bibliography
1. Genealogicheskoe drevo. Pol'skie koroli i kniaz'ia (Piasty) // Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov. Khrestomatiia. / Pod red. T. N. Dzhakson, I. G. Konovalovoi i A. V. Podosinova. T. IV: Zapadnoevropeiskie istochniki. Sost., per. i komment. A.V. Nazarenko. M., 2010.
2. Dombrovskii D. Genealogiia Mstislavichei. Pervye pokoleniia (do nachala XIV v.) / Per. s pol'skogo i vstup. slovo k rus. izd. K.Iu. Erusalimskogo, O.A. Ostapchuk. SPb., 2015.
3. Maiorov A. V. Rus', Vizantiia i Zapadnaia Evropa: Iz istorii vneshnepoliticheskikh i kul'turnykh sviazei XII–XIII vv. SPb., 2011.
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5. Pashuto V.T. Ocherki po istorii Galitsko-Volynskoi Rusi, M., 1950.
6. Poliakova S.G. Kniagini Drevnei Rusi Kh–pervoi poloviny XI vv.: sotsial'nyi status i rol' v gosudarstvennoi politike. Avtoref. diss. k.i.n. Briansk, 2006.
7. Pushkareva N.L. Zhenshchiny Drevnei Rusi. M.,1989.
8. Drevniaia Rus' v srednevekovom mire: entsiklopediia / Pod obshch. red. E.A. Mel'nikovoi, V.Ia. Petrukhina. M., 2014.
9. Dąbrowski, D. Rodowód Romanowiczów książąt halicko-wołynskich Poznań; Wrocław. 2002.
10. Dąbrowski D. Małżeństwa Wasylka Romanowicza. Problem mazowieckiego pochodzenia drugiej żony // Europa środkowa i wschodnia w polityce Piastów. Toruń, 1997. S. 221–233
11. Szymczakowa A. Księżniczki ruskie w Polsce XIII wieku / Zeszyty naukowe Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Ser. I. Z. 29. 1978. S. 25–42.
Links
1. http://www.wladcy.myslenice.net.pl/Polska/opisy/Agafia%20Rurykowicz.htm
http://psrl.csu.ru/toms/Tom_01.shtml