ZBYSLAVA SVYATOPOLKOVNA (before 1089 – † in 1114), Princess of Poland, since November 16, 1102 the wife of the Polish Prince Boleslaw III Wrymouth of the Piast dynasty

Father

  • Svyatopolk II Izyaslavich, prince of Polotsk (1069-1071), prince of Novgorod (1078-1088), prince of Turov (1088-1093), the Grand Prince of Kiev (1093-1113)

Mother

  • Unknown by name representative of the Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia [5, p. 579]

Biography

The daughter of the Grand Prince of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and a representative of the Bohemian dynasty was born between 1085 and 1090. For a long time it was believed that the mother of the older children of Svyatopolk (including Zbyslava and Peredslava) was Princess Barbara Komnina [1, p. 343; 3, p. 171, n. 4], but today the majority of researchers consider Barbara to be a fictional character. The version that the first wife of Svyatopolk and, accordingly, the mother of Zbyslava, was an unknown Bohemian princess, daughter of Spytignev II, belongs to A.V. Nazarenko [5, p. 576]. Based on the fact that the marriage of Zbyslava and Boleslav III Wrymouth was considered non-canonical, and, adhering to the opinion that Svyatopolk was the illegitimate son of Izyaslav ( see Gertrude of Poland), the researcher traces the relationship of Zbyslava and her husband on the maternal line [ibid, p. 559-578].

The marriage of Boleslaw III and Zbyslava is the most striking episode in the biography of Svyatopolk's daughter. About the wedding in 1102/03 reported both Rus chronicles [V, cl. 276; VI, cl. 252], and Western European sources, first of all, Gallus Anonymous in his "Chronicle" and the so-called. "Swietokrzyski Rochnik" [I, p. 213-215; II, p. 176]. The difference in the dating proposed by the Rus chronicles and the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymous in this case is easily explained: in 1102 Zbyslava was sent to Poland, and in 1103 the wedding took place. The record that this marriage was probably caused by some kind of defeat of Rus [VII, p. 256], does not find confirmation in the sources [ibid, p. 255, n. 14]. The main question concerns the family ties between Zbyslava and her husband, Boleslaw III. To conclude a marriage, the permission of the Pope was required, from which it can be concluded that the spouses were originally in close degrees of kinship, which did not allow them to be combined in a canonical marriage. Indeed, Bishop Baldwin of Krakow asked the Pope to allow such a marriage as necessary for the country to strengthen the faith [II, p. 177; IV, p. 198; VIII, p. 47, 54–55, 155]. This circumstance, according to researchers, was caused by the fact that Boleslaw and Zbyslava were second cousins ​​[VIII, p. 71, com. 2 to ch. II, 23; 6, p. 46; 7, s. 120; 8, s. 188-189]. This kinship along the line of Sack II is disputed by A. V. Nazarenko, noting that marriages in a similar degree of kinship, although they were risky, nevertheless met quite often and did not require special permission from Rome [5, p. 563-565]. The fact of addressing the Pope with a request, as an exception, to allow Zbyslava and Boleslaw to be married, the scientist explains by a closer relationship of the spouses on the maternal side: both of them were great-grandchildren of the Bohemian prince Břetislav I through their mothers, the daughters of the Bohemian princes Spytignev II and Vratislav II [ibid. c. 559-578].

Zbyslava and Boleslaw had one son - the future king Vladislaus II the Exile. Data on his birth vary: Polish annals indicate his birth under 1105, Gallus Anonymous - under 1107 [II, p. 178]

Zbyslava died around 1114 (or in 1109/1112) [VII, p. 256, n. 15]. After her death, according to sources, the peace between Poland and Rus was broken [ibid.]. Boleslav decided to support the rebellious prince Yaroslav Svyatopolchich, the brother of his deceased wife, in his struggle for the Volyn throne, which could not but affect Rus-Polish relations in general.

Widowed, Boleslaw III married a second time to Salome of Berg, from whom were born sons - Boleslaw IV, Meszko III and Henry. Subsequently, a struggle for power would flare up between them and the eldest son born of Zbyslava Vladislav II the Exile [III, p. 253, 258, com. 25]/

Children* 

*A. V. Nazarenko repeatedly notes that Zbyslava and Boleslaw III had only one son - Vladislaus II [II, p. 178, annex. 61; VII, p. 255].

Children

  • Vladislaus II the Exile (Władysław II Wygnaniec), in 1138-1146 the Grand Duke of Poland (Prince of Krakow), Prince of Sandomierz, eastern Greater Poland *, Kuyavia, Silesia and the prince-princeps of Pomorie [9, p. 99, 113]
  • Stanislav Boleslavich (born in 1108 - † in his youth)
  • Judith–Maria (born in 1111), Princess of Murom, wife of Prince of Murom Vsevolod Davydovich (?)** ** L. E. Morozova claims that Zbyslava's daughter was named Ryksa in honor of her great-grandmother, mother of Gertrude of Poland, Ryksa (Riksa) of Lorraine [4, p. 252].

Information

Psalter of Gertrude (probably belonged to Zbyslava) [2, p. 181-182; 4, p. 224]

Sources

I. Annaly monastyria Sv. Kresta (Sventokshiskii rochnik) // Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov: Khrestomatiia / Pod red. T.N. Dzhakson, I.G. Konovalovoi, A.V. Podosinova. T. 4. Zapadnoevropeiskie istochniki / Sost., per. i komment. A.V. Nazarenko. M., 2010. S. 213–215.

II. Gall Anonim. Khronika i deianiia pol'skikh kniazei (1107–1113) // Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov: Khrestomatiia / Pod red. T.N. Dzhakson, I.G. Konovalovoi, A.V. Podosinova. T. 4. Zapadnoevropeiskie istochniki / Sost., per. i komment. A.V. Nazarenko. M., 2010. S. 166–180.

III. Latinoiazychnye istochniki po istorii Drevnei Rusi / Sostavl., perev., komment. M.B. Sverdlova. Vyp. 2. M.; L., 1989. 

IV. Perenesenie ruki sv. Stefana Pervomuchennika (Dobavlenie k  Tsvifal'tenskoi khronike Ortliba (1141 g.) //  Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov: Khrestomatiia / Pod red. T.N. Dzhakson, I.G. Konovalovoi, A.V. Podosinova. T. 4. Zapadnoevropeiskie istochniki / Sost., per. i komment. A.V. Nazarenko. M., 2010. S. 197–203.

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

VI. PSRL. T. 2. Ipat'evskaia letopis'. M., 2001.

VII. Kherbord. Beseda o zhitii Ottona Bambergskogo //  Drevniaia Rus' v svete zarubezhnykh istochnikov: Khrestomatiia / Pod red. T.N. Dzhakson, I.G. Konovalovoi, A.V. Podosinova. T. 4. Zapadnoevropeiskie istochniki / Sost., per. i komment. A.V. Nazarenko. M., 2010. S. 253–258.

VIII. Shchaveleva N.I. Pol'skie latinoiazychnye srednevekovye istochniki: Teksty, perevod, kommentarii. M., 1990.

Bibliography

1.      Vernadskii G.V. Kievskaia Rus': Rus' i vneshnii mir v kievskii period. M., 1996.

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

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

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

6.      Pashuto V.T. Vneshniaia politika Drevnei Rusi. M., 1968.

7.      Balzer O. Genealogia Piastów, Wyd. II.  Kraków, 2005.

8.      Jasiński K. Rodowód Piastów małopolskich i kujawskich. Poznań; Wrocław, 2001.

9.      Żylińska J. Piastówny i żony Piastów, Варшава, 1975/

Internet Resources 

Pashuto V.T. Vneshniaia politika Drevnei Rusi. M., 1968.