Grand Prince of Kiev

Our grandfathers and one grandmother who had the title of 'Grand Prince of Kiev' 864-1243.

"The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince."  (See: Wikipedia) 

Principalities of Kievan Rus' (1054-1132).

 Rurik I the founder of the Rurik Dynasty -879 (REIGN  864-879). [ANCESTRY:  Kirt DeMar WOOD and Camilla SMITH are both descendants of Rurik I.  He is on their the family trees of their grandchildren more than 100 times as our 34th to 40th grandfather.]   

 Oleg the Seer (Helgi) -915 (REIGN  882-915). [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Igor I (Ingvar, the son of Rurik I) -945  (REIGN  912-945).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 St. Olga (Helga) (regent), was baptized by Emperor Constantine VII but failed to bring Christianity to Kiev. -969 (REIGN  945-962).   [ANCESTRY: Grandmother]

Sviatoslav I the Brave (Sven) 942-972  the first true ruler of Rus' who destroyed the Khazar Khaganate and united all of the Rus' principalities under the Kiev throne (REIGN 962-972).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Yaropolk I 
 Vladimir I the Great (Valdamarr) 958-1015, son of Sviatoslav I and Malusha, his early rule is characterized by a staunch pagan reaction but in 988 he was baptized into Orthodoxy and successfully converted Kievan Rus' to Christianity (REIGN 980-1015).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Sviatopolk I the Accused 
 Yaroslav I the Wise 978-1054, son of Vladimir the Great and Rogneda of Polotsk, during his reign Kievan Rus' reached the pinnacle of its power (reign 1019-1054).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Iziaslave I 1024-1078 (REIGN 1st time 1054-1068 / 2nd time 1069-1073 / 3rd time 1076-1078).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Vselsav I 'the Seer' of Polotsk 1039–110 was the most famous ruler of Polotsk and was briefly Grand Prince of Kiev.  He was son of Bryachislav Prince of Polotsk who was a grandson of Vladimir I the great. (REIGN 1068-1069.)  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Iziaslave I 1024-1078 ( REIGN 2nd time 1069-1073).

  Sviatoslav II 1027-1076 son of Yaroslav and Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden. (REIGN 1073-1076).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Iziaslave I 1024-1078 (REIGN 3rd time 1076-1078).

 

Vsevolod I of Kiev 1030-1093 son of Yaroslav and Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden. (REIGN 1078-1093).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

Svyatopolk II son of Iziaslav and Gertrude of Poland 1050-1113 (REIGN 1093-1113)

 [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

Vladimir II Monomakh [full name Vladimir Vsevolodovich]1053-1125  son of Vsevolod I and Anastasia of Byzantium, he is considered to be the last ruler of the united Kievan Rus' (REIGN 1113-1125).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

 Mstislav I 'the Great' 1076-1132 known as Harald in the Norse Sagas, son of Vladimir II and Gytha of  Wessex, after his reign Kievan Rus' fell into recession starting a rapid decline. (REIGN 1125-1146).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Yaropolk II 
=Viacheslav I
 Vsevolod II-1146, married Maria, sister of Mstislav I, Yaropolk II and Viacheslav I.  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Igor II
 Isoslav II 1097-1154 son of Mstislav I and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden (REIGN 1st time 1149-1151 / 2nd time 1151-1154).


Yuri I Dolgorukiy 'Yuri the Long-Armed' 1099-1157 son of Vladimir II Monomakh (RIEGN 1st time 1149-1151 / 2nd time 1155-1157).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Viacheslav I 

Isoslav II Mstislavich 1097-1154 (RIEGN 2nd time 1151-1154) Ruled jointly with Viacheslav I. 

 Rostislav I 1097-1167 Brother of Iziaslav II (REING 1st time 1154-1154 / 2nd time 1158-1167).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Iziaslav III
Yuri I Dolgorukiy 'Yuri the Long-Armed' 1099-1157 (RIEGN 2nd time 1158-1157).
=Iziaslav III
 Rostislav I 1097-1167 Brother of Iziaslav II (REING 2nd time 1158-1167). [Jointly with 3rd rule 1162-1162 of Iziaslave III.]
=Iziaslav III
 Mstislav II Izyaslavich 1124-1172 son of Iziaslav II and Agnes of Germany. (REIGN 1st time1167-1169 / 2nd time 1170-1170).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Gleb
 Mstislav II Izyaslavich 1124-1172 (REIGN 2nd time 1170-1170).
=Gleb 
=Vladimir III 
=Michael I 
=Roman I 
=Vsevolod III the Big Nest

 Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 1st time 1173-1173 / 2nd time 1180-1182 / 3rd time 1194-1202 / 4th time 1203-05 / 5th time 1206-1206 / 6th time 1207-1210).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]

Sviatoslav III Grand Prince of Kiev -1194 (REIGN 1st time 1174 / 2nd time 1177–1180 / 3rd time 1182–1194).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Yaroslav II 
=Roman I 
Sviatoslav III Grand Prince of Kiev -1194 (REIGN 2nd time 1177–1180 / 3rd time 1182–1194).
=Yaroslav II 
 Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 2nd time 1180-1182 / 3rd time 1194-1202 / 4th time 1203-05 / 5th time 1206-1206 / 6th time 1207-1210).


Sviatoslav III Grand Prince of Kiev -1194 (REIGN 3rd time 1182–1194).

 Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 3rd time 1194-1202 / 4th time 1203-05 / 5th time 1206-1206 / 6th time 1207-1210).
=Igor III
 Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 4th time 1203-05 / 5th time 1206-1206 / 6th time 1207-1210). 


 Roman II 'the Great' Mstislavich 1160-1205 son of Mstislav II. In his first time ruled jointly with Rurik II and Rostislav II (until 1205). (REIGN 1213-1205).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Rostislav
 Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 5th time 1206-1206 / 6th time 1207-1210). Fifth time, jointly with his son Rostislav II.

Vsevolod IV the Red 1153-1212 son of Sviatoslav. His baptismal name was "Daniil" (Daniel). (REIGN 1st time 1206-1207 / 2nd time 1210-1212).


  Rurik II Rostislavich 1142-1215 brother of Roman I (REIGN 6th time and last 1207-1210).
=Igor III

Vsevolod IV the Red 1153-1212 son of Sviatoslav. His baptismal name was "Daniil" (Daniel). (REIGN 2nd time 1210-1212).
=Igor III
=Mstislav III
=Vladimir IV 
=Iziaslav IV
=Yaroslav III 
 Saint Michael II of Chernigov aka Miknail son of Vsevolod IV 1185-1246 (REIGN 1st time 1238-1239 / 2nd time 1241-1243). [ANCESTRY:  Camilla SMITH is a 22nd great granddaughter of Saint Michael II.] 

 Rostislav III 1210–1262 son of Michael II. (REIGN 1239-1239).  [ANCESTRY: Grandfather]
=Daniel
Saint Michael II of Chernigov aka Miknail son of Vsevolod IV 1185-1246 (REIGN 2nd time 1241-1243)

=Yaroslav III 
=St. Alexander 
=Nevsky 
=SYaroslav IV 
=Lev 
=Volodymyr-Ivan Ivanovich 
=Stanislav Ivanovich 

Kievan Rus' was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1331 or 1324.

Saint Olga and Saint Vladimir Rulers of Kievan Rus'

The Beauty Regent Kiev, Saint Olga / Helga / Yelena

Olga and Christianity: 

She was the first Rus' ruler to convert to Christianity, either in 945 or in 957. The ceremonies of her formal reception in Constantinople were minutely described by Emperor Constantine VII in his book De Ceremoniis. Following her baptism she took the Christian name Yelena, after the reigning Empress Helena Lekapena. The Slavonic chronicles add apocryphal details to the account of her baptism, such as the story how she charmed and "outwitted" Constantine and how she spurned his matrimonial proposals. In truth, at the time of her baptism, Olga was an old woman, while Constantine had a wife.

Olga was one of the first people of Rus' to be proclaimed a saint, for her efforts to spread the Christian religion in the country. Because of her proselytizing influence, the Orthodox Church calls St. Olga by the honorific Isapóstolos, "Equal to the Apostles". However, she failed to convert [her son] Svyatoslav, and it was left to her grandson and pupil Vladimir I to make Christianity the lasting state religion. During her son's prolonged military campaigns, she remained in charge of Kiev, residing in the castle of Vyshgorod together with her grandsons. She died soon after the city's siege by the Pechenegs in 969.

As a Pagan Ruler the widow Olga was ruthless:

Princess Olga was the wife of Igor of Kiev, who was killed by the Drevlians. Upon her husband's death, their son, Svyatoslav, was three years old, making Olga the official ruler of Kievan Rus until he reached adulthood. The Drevlians wanted Olga to marry their Prince Mal, making him the ruler of Kievan Rus, but Olga was determined to remain in power and preserve it for her son.

The Drevlians sent twenty of their best men to convince Olga to marry their Prince Mal and give up her rule of Kievan Rus. She had them buried alive. Then she sent word to Prince Mal that she accepts the proposal, but requires their most distinguished men to accompany her on the journey in order for her people to accept the offer of marriage. The Drevlians sent their best men who governed their land. Upon their arrival, she offered them a warm welcome and an invitation to clean up after their long journey in abathouse. After they entered, she locked the doors and set fire to the building, burning them alive.

With the best and wisest men out of the way, she planned to destroy the remaining Drevlians. She invited them to a funeral feast so she could mourn over her husband's grave, where her servants waited on them. After the Drevlians were drunk, Olga's soldiers killed over 5,000 of them. She returned to Kiev and prepared an army to attack the survivors. The Drevlians begged for mercy and offered to pay for their freedom with honey and furs. She asked for threepigeons and three sparrows from each house, since she did not want to burden the villagers any further after the siege. They were happy to comply with such a reasonable request.

Now Olga gave to each soldier in her army a pigeon or a sparrow, and ordered them to attach by thread to each pigeon and sparrow a piece of sulfur bound with small pieces of cloth. When night fell, Olga bade her soldiers release the pigeons and the sparrows. So the birds flew to their nests, the pigeons to the cotes, and the sparrows under the eaves. The dove-cotes, the coops, the porches, and the haymows were set on fire. There was not a house that was not consumed, and it was impossible to extinguish the flames, because all the houses caught on fire at once. The people fled from the city, and Olga ordered her soldiers to catch them. Thus she took the city and burned it, and captured the elders of the city. Some of the other captives she killed, while some she gave to others as slaves to her followers. The remnant she left to pay tribute.

see: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=427

Grand Prince Vladimir I  Sviatoslavich the Great Saint 



Vladimir's Pagan Leadership:  Though Christianity had won many converts since Olga's rule, Vladimir had remained a thoroughgoing pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (besides numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods. He may have attempted to reform Slavicpaganism by establishing the thunder-god, Perun , as a supreme deity. "Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Vladimir’s time, he had remained a pagan, accumulated about seven wives, established temples, and, it is said, taken part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice."

St. Vladimir I, 956-1015, Grandson of St. Olga and illegitimate son of Sviastoslav, grand duke of Kiev, and his mistress, Malushka, he was given Novgorod to rule by his father. Civil war broke out between his half-brothers Yaropolk and Oleg; Yaropolk made himself ruler by defeating and killing Oleg, and when he captured Novgorod, Vladimirwas forced to flee to Scandinavia in 977. Vladimir returned with an army and captured Novgorod and defeated and slew Yaropolk at Rodno in 980; Vladimir was now sole ruler of Russia, notorious for his barbarism and immorality. After his conquest of Kherson in the Crimea in 988, he became impressed by the progrerss of Christianity and approached Eastern Emperor Basil II about marrying the emperor's daughter Ann. He was converted, reformed his life and married Anne. On his return to Kiev, he invited Greek missionaries to Russia, let his people to Christianity, borrowed canonical feacures from the West and built schools and churches. His later years were troubled by rebellions led by the sons of his first marriages, although two sons by Anne, SS Romanus and David became martyrs. In 1014 he was obliged to march against his rebellious son Yaroslav in Novgorod, fell ill on the way and died at Beresyx, Russia. He is patron of the Russian Catholics. Feastday July 15. 

see: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=434

Significance and legacy

One of the largest Kievan cathedrals is dedicated to him. The University of Kiev was named after the man who Christianized Kievan Rus. There is the Russian Order of St. Vladimir and Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on 15 July.

His memory was also kept alive by innumerable Ukrainian and Russian folk ballads and legends, which refer to him as Krasno Solnyshko, that is, the Fair Sun. With him theVarangian period of Eastern Slavic history ceases and the Christian period begins.  (Wikipieia)

Ancestral Chain:  Ancestral Quest relationship calculator shows Saint Olga as our grandmother 100 times as 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th and 39th and 40th great grandmother.

As 33rd great-grandmother Saint Olga "The Beauty Regent" b.890, Sviatoslav Warrior I Kiev b.915, Saint Vladimir I Grand Duke Kyiv b.956, Yaroslav 'the Wise'  Grand Prince of Rus b.978, Anne  Princess of Kiev b.1024, Hugh Magnus "the great"  Crepi / Count of Vermandois b.1057, (Isabel) Elizabeth DE VERMANDOIS Countess b.1081, Willaim III DE WARREN (WARENNE) Earl of Surrey b.1118, Lady Isabel 4th Countess Surrey DE WARENNE  b.1137, William, 6th Earl Of Surrey DE WARENNE b.1155, John 7th Earl of Surrey DE WARENNE b.1231, Eleanor PLANTAGENET b.1244, Henry, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick DE PERCY b.1273, Henry, 2nd Baron Percy DE PERCY b.1299, Maude DE PERCY b.1345, Earl-Baron-Lord Ralph DE NEVILLE 1st Earl of Westmoreland, 4th Lord of Raby b.1364, Lady Eleanor NEVILLE Countess of Northumberland b.1398, Henry 3rd Earl Of Northumberland PERCY b.1421, Henry PERCY 4th Earl of Northumberland b. 1449, Eleanor (Alianore) PERCY Duchess of Buckingham b.1474, Lady Catherine STAFFORD Countess of Westmorland b.1499, Lady Margaret NEVILLE b.1520, George GARDNER b.1535, Sir Thomas GARDNER b.1565, Rachel GARDNER Immigrant b.1608, Thomas NOBLE Immigrant b.1632, Sgt. Luke NOBLE b.1675, Samuel NOBLE b.1722, Lydia NOBLE b.1768, Horace Datus ENSIGN b.1797, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark, JR.