VASILISA IVANOVNA (1331, Tver - † April 15, 1378, Nizhny Novgorod), Princess of Nizhny Novgorod, since 1344 the wife of Andrei Konstantinovich, prince of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod
Father
- boyar Ivan Kiasovsky
Mother
- Anna
Biography
Information about the wife of the Suzdal prince Andrei Konstantinovich is very scattered [I, p. 231; II, p. 4]. In sources she is called differently: Anastasia, Vasilisa (Vassa) and Theodora (in monasticism). Today it is generally accepted that the twelve-year-old daughter of the Tver boyar Ivan Kiasovsky became the wife of Andrei Konstantinovich. The girl was born around 1331 and from an early age showed an interest in God and monastic life. Probably in order to prevent his daughter from taking the tonsure, Ivan married her to Prince Andrei at the age of twelve. The wedding took place in 1344, the marriage lasted thirteen years until the death of Andrei Konstantinovich [1, p. 367-368]. The couple had no children *.
Data on exactly when Vasilisa took monastic vows differ in the sources: according to the Karamzin Trinity Chronicle, Vasilisa was widowed for four years, the Nikon Chronicle and the Book of Royal Degrees claim that the princess went to the monastery immediately after the death of her husband [3, p. 407, n. 1147].
The chronicles emphasize the princess's literacy and her active work. Vasilisa, while still being married, not as a widow of Andrei Konstantinovich, founded the monastery of the Holy Conception, which would later become part of the Exaltation of the Cross monastery. She was literate knew the texts of the Old and New Testaments. In the monastery, as befits a nun, she led a modest and quiet life [2, p. 94].
She died on April 15, 1378 and was buried with her husband in the Transfiguration Cathedral. The burial has not survived.
* In the genealogical tables of G. Shilov there is mentioned Ivan, the son of Andrei Konstantinovich, who died in 1357. However, A. V. Ekseplyarsky put forward the assumption that Ivan Andreevich mentioned in the chronicles was Prince Borovsky and is not related to the family of the Suzdal prince [3 , p. 407, n. 1148].
Sources
I. PSRL. T. 10. Letopisnyi sbornik, imenuemyi Patriarsheiu ili Nikonovskoiu letopis'iu (1177–1362 gg.). M., 1949.
II. PSRL. T. 11. Letopisnyi sbornik, imenuemyi Patriarsheiu ili Nikonovskoiu letopis'iu (1362–1424 gg.). SPb.. 1897.
Bibliography
1. Nazarenko A.V. Andrei Konstantinovich // Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia. T. 2. M., 2001. S. 367–368.
2. Pariiskii S.M. Blagovernaia velikaia kniaginia Nizhegorodskaia Anastasiia (Vassa), v skhime Feodora. N. Novgorod, 1915.
3. Ekzempliarskii A.V. Velikie i udel'nye kniaz'ia severnoi Rusi v tatarskii period s 1238 g. po 1505 g.: biograficheskie ocherki po pervoistochnikam i glavneishim posobiiam. T. 2. Vladetel'nye kniaz'ia Vladimirskikh i Moskovskikh udelov i velikie i udel'nye vladetel'nye kniaz'ia Suzdal'sko-Nizhegorodskie, Tverskie. Riazanskie. SPb., 1891.
Internet Resources
1. Nazarenko A.V. Andrei Konstantinovich // Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia. T. 2. M., 2001. S. 367–368