CHRISTINA (KRISTINA) INGESDOTTER / of Sweden (born in Sweden in the 1070s - † January 18, 1122 [3, p. 75], Princess of Novgorod, the first wife of Mstislav Vladimirovich, the Novgorod Prince (since 1125 the Grand Prince of Kiev)

• Inge the Elder (Stenkilsson), King of Sweden (1087–1110)

• Helena of Sweden, a supposed sister of King Blot-Sweyn of Sweden

The exact date of birth of the daughter of the Swedish king Inge Stenkilsson and Helena of Sweden is unknown, but her origin is indicated in the sources [I, p. 17; VI, c. 161; VII, p. 295; IX, p. 357; X, p. 176-185, etc.]. Presumably she was a little younger or the same age as her husband, Prince of Novgorod Mstislav (Harold) Vladimirovich [11, p. 328].

The filiation of Christina, as Mstislav's wife, is beyond doubt. This is evidenced by the numerous Scandinavian sagas that knew Mstislav well under the name of Harold (Harold) and call his first wife by name [V, p. 181; VI, c. 161; VII, p. 295; IX, p. 357; 2, p. 160-163]. This is also confirmed by the seals found in Novgorod with the image of St. Christina, the attribution of which was carried out by V.L. Yanin [18, p. 33]. The record that calls Christina's husband the powerful "King of Rus" Izyaslav is contained only in the "Genealogy of Danish Kings" by Abbot Wilhelm [X, p. 182-183] and is repeated in his Epistle to the Archbishop of Lund of 1194/1195, but is recognized as a mistake by the Norwegian author [12, p. 589-590]. Speaking about the origin of Christina, M.M. Shcherbatov was clearly mistaken, considering her an Ossetian-Alan [17, p.112]. M.V. Lomonosov, who established the identity of Mstislav's second wife, knew nothing about her [9, p. 61].

Unfortunately, nothing definite can be said about the timing of the marriage. For quite a long time, the date of the marriage of Mstislav-Harold and Christina in 1095 was taken for granted. This date first appeared in the "History of Rus" by V. N. Tatishchev [14, p. 104], however, it is not supported by data from sources [6, p. 255, n. 172]. The dating proposed by V.N. Tatishchev was accepted by some researchers [1, p. 1554; 20, Tabl. V; 21, Tabl. 21, etc.], even though the historian clearly confused the two spouses of Mstislav. He called Christina the daughter of a Novgorod mayor, while that was the second wife of the prince [3, p. 72, 11, p. 327; 12, p. 589]. The date of the marriage of Christina and Mstislav was subsequently pushed back to an earlier time. The basis for the new dating was not only the presumptive date of birth of the first child (according to historians, he was Vsevolod Mstislavich [12, p. 600; 13, pp. 65–78]; V.N. Tatishchev mistakenly considered the firstborn to be Izyaslav [14, p. 137-138]) but also the time of Mstislav's reign in Novgorod, where the prince was called twice [11, pp. 329-331]. Today, 1090-1093 or 1090/1091 - the beginning of 1096 [3, p. 73; 7, p. 66-74; 12, p. 607] are considered to be a possible interval when a marriage could be concluded .

Apparently, Christina lived with her husband in Novgorod, where thanks to her trade ties with Scandinavia were even stronger [11, p. 331]. The active development of contacts was also facilitated by the fact that Christina's sister Margarita Fredkulla, being the wife of the Danish king Nils (Nicholas), took an active part in organizing dynastic marriages of the daughters of Mstislav and Christina, Ingeborg and Malfed (Malmfred) [3, p. 75].

There is no evidence of Christina's acceptance of Orthodoxy. She probably retained the Catholic faith, which was for foreign princely wives in the 11th century still acceptable. An indirect confirmation of this fact is the appearance in Novgorod around the time of Mstislav's reign of the hermit monk Anthony, nicknamed the Roman, and the founding of a Catholic monastery on the banks of the Volkhov [III, p. 199; 11, p. 335]. A small episode described by V.L. Yanin testifies to the special position of the princess in Novgorod: once a slave disappeared from the princess, a Novgorod mayor was personally involved in the search for the girl [19, p. 212].

Interestingly that Christina is not mentioned in the description of Mstislav's miraculous healing after being fatally wounded while hunting, if we admit the reliability of this story (for more details see: 12, pp. 585-605]. By this time, Christina should have been Mstislav's wife. V. Nazarenko, however, does not see anything surprising in this: this episode, in principle, known only from the sermon of a certain Rupert from Deutz, telling about the miracles of St. Panteleimon, pays more attention to the pilgrimage of Gytha, Mstislav's mother, to the Holy Land; in addition, Christina probably at that time was very young.It is noteworthy that there is no description of the wound of Mstislav on the hunt neither in the Primary Chronical, nor in the Life of Mstislav the Great [I, n. on p. 48; 12, p. 608; 13, pp. 65–78.]

After 1117, when Mstislav was transferred by Monomakh to Belgorod, Christina remained in Novgorod with her eldest son Vsevolod [11, p. 336]. She did not become the Grand Princess of Kiev: Mstislav received the princely table after the death of his first wife. The date of Christina's death is also controversial among researchers. Information about her death is contained in several narrative sources: Ipatiev Chronicle [II, cl. 286], Laurentian Chronicle [III, cl. 292], as well as in the Khlebnikovsko-Ostrozhsky and Pogodinsko-Chetvertinsky vaults. In the narratives can be found different dates of Christina's death [for more details see: 3, pp. 73–74]. The date of the princess's death should be associated with the second wedding of Mstislav, the record of which is placed in the Ipatiev and First Novgorod Chronicles [II, stb. 286; IV; 3, c. 74]. Historians indicate the date of Christina's death either January 18, 1122 [1, p. 458; 3, c. 75; 5, c. 430; 20, tabl. V], or January 18, 1121 [4, p. 53], or January 17, 1121 [15, p. 16]. Another date of the princess's death on January 17, 1123 was proposed by S. V. Tsyb [16, p. 41-42]. The burial place of Christina is unknown. *

* T. Malgin suggested that the burial place of Christina is in Novgorod, but there is no data confirming this version [10, p. 150]

Sons [VI, p.161; VIII, p. 238 etc.]:**

** Data on the years of life of the children of Christina and Mstislav and their sequence are given according to D. Dombrovsky [3, p. 77-166]

• Vsevolod (Gabriel) Mstislavich (faithful Vsevolod of Pskov) (c. 1095/1100 or c. 1103 – February 11, 1137 or February 10, 1138), Prince of Novgorod (1117–1136, with interruptions), Prince of Pereyaslavl (1132), Prince of Vyshgorod (1136-1137), Prince of Pskov (1137-1138)
• Izyaslav (Panteleimon) Mstislavich (1106/1108 –13 November 1154), prince of Kursk (1125–1129), prince of Polotsk (1129–1132), Prince of Turov (1132–1134), Prince of Volyn (1135-1142), Prince of Pereyaslavl (1142-1146), the Grand Prince of Kiev (1146-1149, 1150, 1151-1154)
• Rostislav Mstislavich (1107/1109 - March 14, 1167), Prince of Smolensk (1127–1167), Prince of Novgorod (1154), the Grand Prince of Kiev (1154–1155, 1159–1161, 1161-1167)
• Svyatopolk Mstislavich (1114/1118 - March 26 / or April / or May / or November 13, 1154), Prince of Polotsk (1132), Prince of Pskov (1138-1148), Prince of Beresteysk (1140) ), Prince of Novgorod (1132, 1138, 1142–1148), Prince of Lutsk (1150–1151, 1151–1152), Prince of Volyn (1149, 1151–1154)
• Malmfried (Malfed) (1095/1102 - after January 6, 1135), Queen of Norway, Queen of Denmark, the wife of King Sigurd I of Norway the Crusader, in second marriage the wife of Eric II, King of Denmark (1133) [10, p. 246-247]
• N Mstislavna (1095/1099 - after August 15, 1118), Princess of Volyn, the wife of Prince Yaroslav Svyatopolchich of Volyn
• Ingeborg of Kiev (1097/1102 - after January 1131), the wife of the Danish Duke Knud Lavard [10, p. 67, n. 76]
• N Mstislavna (Dobrodea) *** (1108/09 or 1110/11 - the second half of the 1020s / until 1136), the wife of a relative of the Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos, presumably his son, Alexios Komnenos *** This name appears only in V.N. Tatishchev and, most likely, is the conjecture of the historian [3, p. 137]
• N Mstislavna (Xenia) (c. 1105/1112 - after August 1127), the wife of Bryachislav Davydovich, Prince of Izyaslavl
• N Mstislavna (Maria) (c. 1110-1113 - March 1, 1179 / or February 28, 1181), the Grand Princess of Kiev, the wife of the GrandPrince of Kiev Vsevolod Olgovich
• Rogneda Mstislavna (before January 18, 1122 - after March 14, 1167) [8, p. 255] **** **** Sometimes Rogneda is identified with one of the older sisters [ibid.]

I. Prolozhnoe Zhitie Mstislava Velikogo // Serebrianskii N. Drevnerusskie kniazheskie zhitiia: obzor redaktsii i teksty. M., 1915.

II. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei (PSRL). T. 1. Lavrent'evskaia letopis'. M., 2001.

III. PSRL. T. II. Ipat'evskaia letopis'. M., 2001. 

IV. PSRL. T. IV. Novgorodskaia chetvertaia letopis'. M., 2001.

V. Saga o Kniutlingakh // Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov. T. 5. Drevneskandinavskie istochniki / Sost. G.V. Glyzina, T.V. Dzhakson, E.A. Mel'nikova. M., 2009. S.177–184.

VI. Saga o synov'iakh Magnusa (inache nazyvaemaia Sagoi o Sigurde Krestonostse) // Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov. T. 5. Drevneskandinavskie istochniki / Sost. G.V. Glyzina, T.V. Dzhakson, E.A. Mel'nikova. M., 2009. S. 160–162.

VII. Fagrskinna // Noregs konunga tal / Bjarni Einarsson // Íslenzk fornit. Reykjavík. B. XXIX. Bl. 55–364.

VIII. Hauksbok. / Eirikur Jonsson og Finnur Jonsson. Kobenhavn, 1892–1896. 

IX. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030–1157) /  Theodore Murdock Andersson, Kari Ellen Gade. NY, 2000.

X. Wilhelmi abbatis Genealogia Regum Danorum / Ed. M. Cl. Gertz // Scriptores minores historiae Danicae medii aevi. T. I. Kobwnhavn, 1917.

1.      Voitovich V. Kniazha doba na Rusi: portreti eliti. Bila Tserkva, 2006. 

2.      Dzhakson T.N. Islandskie korolevskie sagi o Vostochnoi Evrope (seredina XI–seredina XIII vv.) M., 2000.

3.      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.

4.      Donskoi D. Spravochnik po genealogii Riurikovichei. Ch. 1 (seredina IX–nachalo XIV vv.). Renn, 1991.

5.      Drevniaia Rus' v srednevekovom mire: entsiklopediia /  Pod obshch. red. E.A. Mel'nikovoi, V.Ia. Petrukhina. M., 2014.

6.      Karamzin N.M. Istoriia gosudarstva Rossiiskogo. T. 2–3. M., 1991. 

7.      Kuchkin V.A. Chudo sv. Panteleimona i semeinye dela Vladimira Monomakha // Rossiia v Srednie veka i Novoe vremia. M., 1999. S. 50–82.

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

9.      Lomonosov M.V. Kratkoi rossiiskoi letopisets s rodosloviem. SPb., 1760.

10.   Mal'gin T. Zertsalo rossiiskikh gosudarei, izobrazhaiushchee ot rozhdestva Khristova s 862 po 1794 g. vysokoe rodoslovie. SPb., 1794.

11.   Morozova L.E. Velikie i neizvestnye zhenshchiny Drevnei Rusi. M., 2009.

12.   Nazarenko A.V. Drevniaia Rus' na mezhdunarodnykh putiakh. Mezhdistsiplinarnye ocherki kul'turnykh, torgovykh, politicheskikh sviazei IX–XII vv. M., 2001. 

13.   Nazarenko A.V. Neizvestnyi epizod iz zhizni Mstislava Velikogo //  Otechestvennaia istoriia. 1993. № 2. S. 65–78.

14.   Tatishchev V.N. Istoriia Rossiiskaia. T. 3. M.; L., 1963. 

15.   Tolochko P.P. Dinasticheskie braki na Rusi XII–XIII vv. SPb., 2013. 

16.   Tsyb S.V. Drevnerusskoe vremiaischislenie v "Povesti vremennykh let' SPb., 2011.

17.   Shcherbatov M.M. Istoriia Rossiiskaia ot drevneishikh vremen: T. II. SPb., 1901. 

18.   Ianin V.L. Aktovye pechati Drevnei Rusi. X–XV vv. T. 1. M., 1970.

19.   Ianin V.L. Ia poslal tebe berestu. M., 1975

20.   Baumgarten N. Gćnóalogies et mariages occidentaux des Rurikides russes du Xе au XIIIе siftcle. Roma, 1927. 

21.   Dworzaczek W. Genealogia. Tablice. Warszawa, 1959.

Internet Resources 

1.      "Gnilaia kozha'

2.      "Krasivaia kozha'

3.      "Saga o Kniutlingakh'

4.      Snorri Stuoluson. Krug zemnoi

5.      Sakson Grammatik. Deianiia danov. V 2 t. I–XVI knigi / Per. s lat. iaz. A.S. Dosaeva. M., 2017.

6.      Serebrianskii N. Drevnerusskie kniazheskie zhitiia: obzor redaktsii i teksty. M., 1915.