AGRIPPINA (years of birth and death are unknown), Princess of Moscow and Grand Princess of Vladimir, the late 1270s or early 1280s was the wife ofDaniil Alexandrovich, Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir

Father

  • Lev Danilovich, Prince of Halych (1264-1301), Prince of Volyn (1292-1301)

Mother

  • Constance of Hungary, Princess of Halych, the wife of Lev Danilovich, Prince of Halych

Biography

Despite the fact that Agrippina was the wife of the first Prince of Moscow and the founder of the Moscow dynasty of Rurikovich, there is little information about her in the sources. All available data are indirect. The mention of her by name was preserved in the Rostov Cathedral Synodikon of the 16th century, which also contains a list of her and Daniil Alexandrovich's common children [I, p. 97]. Based on the traditions of naming in princely families [8, p. 222] and taking into account the time period of Daniil's reign, researchers made attempt to determine the origin of the princess. Presumably the wife of the youngest son Alexander Nevsky could be the daughter of Prince of Halych Lev Danilovich and Constance of Hungary [see: 3, p. 42–44].

Agrippina could have been born in the first half to mid. 1260s. based the possible date of the wedding of Lev Danilovich and Constance, proposed by D. Dombrovsky [11, s. 197–232].However, the time of marriage is still a subject to discussions (see Constance of Hungary). The above time period is also indicated by the wedding of another daughter of Lev Danilovich, Elena Lvovna, which took place between 1274 and 1278. Probably, Agrippina was the eldest daughter of the Prince of Halych and was named after Agrippina Rostislavna's cousin [3, p. 44].

Taking into account the date of birth of Daniil Alexandrovich himself (1261) [II, cl. 475] and the date of the wedding of his eldest son Yuri (1297) known from sources [ibid., cl. 528], the marriage between Daniel and Agrippina could have been concluded in the late 1270s - early 1280s. The couple were probably of the same age and both had come of age by that time. The political motives behind such a marriage are also very transparent. In the 1280s a princely coalition against the middle brother of Andrei Alexandrovich, focused on the ruler of the Western ulus of the Golden Horde, Nogai, was formed [1, p. 12-16; 9, p. 69-80]. The coalition was headed by the prince of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky Dmitry Alexandrovich, the elder brother of Daniil. Despite the conflicts between the brothers after 1282, Daniil Alexandrovich took the side of Dmitry [III, p. 325; 1, p. 13-18; 2, 130-155]. Nogai's supporter in the South-West was the prince of Halych Lev Danilovich [ibid.]. The marriage of Daniel Alexandrovich and the marriage of the son of the prince of Halych Yuri Lvovich to the sister of the princes of Tver, Svyatoslav and Mikhail, who also opposed Andrei Alexandrovich, was supposed to seal the existing union [6, p. 93-107]. Two versions of this events can be considered: either both marriages, for which, due to the sixth degree of kinship, special permission was required [7, p. 45–48], were concluded at the same time (and then it becomes clear why Yuri Lvovich himself went to find a bride in North-Eastern Russia, which was atypical) [3, p. 47], or the marriage of Daniil and Agrippina was concluded earlier and influenced the subsequent marriage of Yuri Lvovich and Daniil's cousin, the princess of Tver [ibid.]. In any case, it was about a long-term alliance, calculated for decades. After the death of Dmitry Alexandrovich in 1294 and the death of Nogai himself in 1299/1300, the scales in the opposition of the sons of Alexander Nevsky swung in favor of Andrei Alexandrovich [10, p. 99-108]. Nevertheless, Daniil managed to maintain a coalition with Yuri Lvovich and his influence in the North-East. A continuation of the strengthening of allied relations in this case looks like a rather early, if not hasty, marriage of the eldest son of Daniil Yuri Danilovich to the Rostov princess around 1297 [1, p. 24-28].

It is known about at least 7 sons born in marriage to Agrippina and Daniil [IV; V, cl. 19; 4, p. 10]. Another son of Agrippina and Daniil, Andrei, is mentioned in the "Genealogy of Russian Princes" in theFirst  Chronical ofSt Sophia and the Fourth Chronicle of Novgorod; 4-11].

Information about the date of Agrippina's death and the place of her burial have not been attested.

Sons [I, с. 99]

Daughters [5, c. 4–11]

Children

  • Yuri Daniilovich († 1325), Prince of Moscow since 1303, Grand Prince of Vladimirin 1319–1322, Prince of Novgorod since 1322
  • Alexander Daniilovich († not later than 1320)
  • Boris Daniilovich († 1320), Prince of Kostroma since 1304
  • Ivan I Daniilovich Kalita (1288–1340 / 1341), Prince of Moscow since 1325, Grand Prince of Vladimir since 1328, Prince of Novgorod in 1328–1337
  • Simeon Daniilovich (possibly died in infancy) [V, cl. 19; IV, p. 14; 4, p. 10]
  • Afanasy Daniilovich († 1322), Prince of Novgorod in 1314-1315 and 1319-1322
  • Andrey Daniilovich (?) (possibly died in infancy) [V, cl. 19; IV, p. 14; 4, p. 10]
  • Anna Daniilovna († not later than 1353)

Sources

I. Konev S.V. Sinodikologiia. Chast' II: Rostovskii sobornyi sinodik // Istoricheskaia genealogiia. Ekaterinburg, 1995. № 6. s. 95 – 107.

II. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei (PSRL). T. I. Lavrent'evskaia letopis'. M., 1997.

III. PSRL. T. III. Novgorodskaia pervaia letopis' starshego i mladshego izvodov. M., 2000.

IV. PSRL. T. IV. Ch. 1. Novgorodskaia chetvertaia letopis'. Izd. 3-e. M., 2000.

V. PSRL. T. VI. Vyp. 1. Sofiiskaia pervaia letopis'. M., 2000.

Bibliography

1.      Gorskii A.A. Moskva i Orda. M., 2000.

2.      Gorskii A.A. Nogai i Rus' // Tiurkologicheskii sbornik. 2001 g. M., 2002. S. 130–155

3.      Gorskii A.A. O dinasticheskikh sviaziakh pervykh moskovskikh kniazei // Drevniaia Rus'. Voprosy medievistiki. 2018. № 4 (74). S. 42–51.

4.      Kuchkin V.A. Moskovskie Riurikovichi (genealogiia, demografiia) // Istoricheskii vestnik. 2013. № 04 (151). S. 6–73.

5.      Kuchkin V.A. Kniaginia Anna – tetka Simeona Gordogo // Issledovaniia po istochnikovedeniiu istorii Rossii (do 1917 g.). M., 1993. S. 4–11.

6.      Kuchkin V.A. Pervyi moskovskii kniaz' Daniil Aleksandrovich // Otechestvennaia istoriia.  1995. № 1. S. 93–107.

7.      Litvina A.F., Uspenskii F. B. Vnutridinasticheskie braki mezhdu troiurodnymi brat'iami i sestrami v domongol'skoi Rusi // Drevniaia Rus'. Voprosy medievistiki. 2012. № 3 (49). S. 45–68.

8.      Litvina A.F., Uspenskii F.B. Vybor imeni u russkikh kniazei v X–XVI vv. Dinasticheskaia istoriia skvoz' prizmu antroponimiki. M., 2006.  

9.      Nasonov A.N. Mongoly i Rus'. M.; L., 1940.

10.   Chugreeva N.N., Floria B.N. Daniil Aleksandrovich // Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia. T. XIV. M., 2007. S. 99–108.

11.     Dąbrowski D. Rodowód Romanowiczów książąt halicko-wołyńskich. Poznań; Wrocław, 2002.

Internet Resources 

1. Konev S. V. Sinodikologiia. Chast' II: Rostovskii sobornyi sinodik // Istoricheskaia genealogiia. Ekaterinburg, 1995. № 6. S. 95–107.