Anna Mstislavna Year of birth unknown, † 1241–1246, Princess of Galicia-Volynia, Grand Princess of Kiev, first wife (from 1217/1219) of Grand Prince of Kiev Daniil Romanovich of Galich
Biography
Although Anna Mstislavna was the daughter and wife of the Princes, whose activities are thoroughly described in different chronicles, very little is known about Anna. She was presumably born between 1204–1207. [3, p. 591], however, this hypothesis is based on an indirect indication, namely the age of her children with Daniel of Galich and the approximate date of their wedding. Anna was the second or third daughter of Prince of Galish Mstislav Mstislavich Udaloy (the Bold) and the daughter of Kipchak khan Köten whose name is not preserved. Anna’s origin is however beyond any doubt. The scholars rely on the account stating that in 1228 Daniil Romanovich called Khan Köten his father [II, col. 753]. It is possible that such a way to address could have been used relating to wife’s father or, as in this case, grandfather. A. F. Litvina and F. B. Uspensky suggested that Anna could be named after her aunt, Anna Yurievna, the wife of Rurik Rostislavich, and expressed the opinion that Anna was the baptismal name of the princess [8, p. 475].
The marriage between Daniel Romanovich and Anna was contracted in 1219, or a little earlier, in 1217. A majority of scholars tend to the first date which seems to be more coherent with the dates of birth of children born in this marriage [1, p. 494; 2, p. 283-284; 4, p. 43; 5, p. 107; 6, p. 184-185; 10, p. 155; 17, s. 212] D. Dombrovski adhered, however, an alternative point of view basing on the account of Henry of Livonia’s Chronicle [I, p. 130]. The scholar dated the marriage back to 1217 and believed that at the time the marriage had been contracted before the princess has reached the age of majority [3, p. 590-591; 16, s. 74]. AV Mayorov adheres to the same dating [9, p. 28]. The political benefits of this marriage were clear. The wedding took place at the peak of the struggle between Daniil Romanovich and Mstislav the Bold for Galician-Volynian throne. The Galicians wanted Daniel to become their prince, but Mstislav managed to ascend the throne. Contrarily to what one might think, the confrontation did not flare up and the conflict came to naught. Daniil Romanovich actively supported his father-in-law in his struggle with other pretenders for the Galician-Volynian throne and took part in a joint military campaign and lead the defence of Galich in 1219. A. V. Mayorov believes that the reason for the alliance was Mstislav the Bold’s promise to make Daniil Romanovich his successor [9, p. 28]. The prince, who was a “stranger” in Galich, obviously was in need of support of his son-in-law. This union, however, did not last long. Already in 1221, Mstislav chose another heir, a Hungarian prince Andrew, by marrying to him his other daughter and making Hungarian king to recognize his own power over the Galician-Volynian Principality [9, p. 29]. It unknown whether the coolness between the father-in-law and the son-in-law affected the family relationship between Daniel and Anna. She is mentioned in the Galicia-Volynian Chronicle in the list of her children from Daniel [II, col. 732] and in the Gustyna Chronicle within a similar account [III, p. 114]. The latter description dates back to 1225/1226, when Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold has finally made a peace with Daniil Romanovich after a long years of struggles and conflicts. As a token of reconciliation he presented his son-in-law and daughter Anna with “great gifts” [II, col. 746].
Anna gave birth to at least eight children whose names are preserved in the sources: five sons and three daughters. Anna’s and Daniel’s parenthood of one of the daughters, Pereyaslava, the future wife of Prince Siemovit of Mazovia, was brought into question called into question [16, p. 173]. There also were at least three children who did not survive infancy [II, col 732; 3, p. 398; 16, p. 174].
The last mention of Anna in historical texts relates the event of 1241 [II, col. 787; 3, p. 591]. D. Dombrovski suggests that the princess died approximately around this year. The latest suggested date of her death is spring 1246 [16, p. 72-74].
The burial place of the princess is also unknown. She was probably buried in the Cathedral of Chelm together with Daniel Romanovich, sons Roman, Shvarno and grandson Mikhail Yurievich [II, col. 895, 913; 3, p. 591]
Sons [II, col. 732; III, p. 114; 3, p. 324] *
*One the children who survived infancy are included in this list
Sources
I. Genrikh Latviiskii. Khroniki Livonii / Vved., per. i komment. S.A. Anninskii, predisl. V.A. Bystrianskii. M.; L., 1938.
II. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei (PSRL). T. II. Ipat'evskaia letopis'. M., 2001.
III. PSRL. T. XL. Gustynskaia letopis'. SPb., 2003.
IV. Ioannis Dlugossii Annales seu Cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae. Lib.V–VI. Varsaviae, 1973
V. The Old Rus’ Kievan and Galician-Volhynian Chronicles: The Ostroz’kyj (Xlebnikov) and Cetvertynsyj (Pogodin) Codices / Harvard library of Ukrainain Literature. Texts. T.VIII. 1990.
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