The dynastic marriages of Yaroslav the Wise – were concluded with ruling dynasties of neighboring and distant states, as well as with promising foreign princes who later ascended to thrones of various countries. These marriages allowed the prince to strengthen the ties of Kievan Rus with Europe and increase the authority of the state.
Marriage of Yaroslav the Wise and Ingigerda of Sweden
This wedding had a highly political character – in his confrontation with his brother Svyatopolk for the right to the Kiev throne, Yaroslav relied on Varangian mercenaries, many of whom were Normans.
Marriage of Anastasia Yaroslavna and the Hungarian King Andrew I the White
Bust in the National Memorial Park in Opustaser.
Around 1038, the eldest (presumably) daughter of Yaroslav the Wise and Ingegerd of Sweden married the Hungarian duke Andras (Andrew), who fled to Kiev to escape persecution by King Stephen I. In 1046, Andras returned to Hungary with Anastasia and, after seizing the throne, became king. The queen founded several Orthodox monasteries in Hungary. According to legend, she died in the Admont or Agmund monastery in Styria.
Dynastic marriages as a sign of union with Poland
As a result of negotiations with Casimir I, who had established himself as the ruler of Poland in 1038, Yaroslav the Wise decided to support the Polish monarch and help him regain Mazovia, a territory that had become separate from the Polish Kingdom during the turmoil of 1034-1037. The Rus-Polish alliance concluded in 1038/1039 was sealed by two dynastic marriages: Casimir then married Yaroslav’s sister, Maria Dobroniega, and his sister, Gertrude, was married to Iziaslav, Yaroslav the Wise’s son. As a sign of full reconciliation with Rus, the Polish prince released all Russian prisoners captured in Kiev by his grandfather, Boleslaus I.
Marriage of Elizabeth Yaroslavna and King Harald III of Norway
In the winter of 1043/1044, Elizabeth, the second daughter of Kiev Prince Yaroslav the Wise and Ingegerd of Sweden, got married to Harald, who had long and persistently sought her hand from Yaroslav. In 1046, Harald became the king of Norway, and they moved to his kingdom. She gave birth to two daughters for her husband – Maria and Ingegerd.
Vsevolod Yaroslavich and a relative of Constantine IX Monomakh
From this marriage, Vladimir Monomakh was born – the future Grand Prince, who played one of the key roles in the history of the ancient Russian state.
Marriage of Anna Yaroslavna and King Henry I of France
The 17th-century historian Francois de Mezeray wrote that about Henry I of France, «the fame of the charms of the princess, namely Anna, daughter of George (the name given to Yaroslav at baptism), king of Russia, now Muscovy, reached him, and he was charmed by the account of her perfections».
The youngest of the three daughters of the Kievan prince was given in marriage by her father to the French monarch, and in 1051 the wedding took place in France. Anna gave birth to four children for Henry, including the future king of France, Philip I. She was known in France as Anna Russkaya or Anna Kievskaya.
Unsuccessful matchmaking to Henry III
In medieval German chronicles, news of two embassies of Yaroslav to Emperor Henry III in the early 40s of the 11th century has been preserved. However, the goals of the first of them remain unclear. The anonymous “Saxon Annalist” wrote only that on November 30, 1040, while in Thuringia, “the emperor received ambassadors from Rus’ with gifts”.
“There among the envoys from many countries were also envoys from Russia, who departed in sorrow because they received a clear refusal regarding the daughter of their king, whom they hoped to betroth to Emperor Henry.”
The young German emperor, who had been widowed in 1038 (his first wife Kunigunde died of the plague), was indeed looking for a bride. But his preferences were given to the French princess. Nevertheless, Henry III tried to soften his refusal so that it would not appear offensive to the Russian prince. As clarified by the “Annales Altahenses”:
“The envoys of Russia brought great gifts, but set off on the return journey with even greater ones.”
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