Rogneda of Polotsk (962–1002) is the Slavic name for Ragnheiðr, a Princess consort of Rus'. She was the daughter of Ragnvald (Slavic:

Rogvolod Rogvolod (russian: Рогволод, translit=Rogvolod; be, Рагвалод, translit=Rahvałod; 920978) was the first chronicled prince of Polotsk (945–978). In the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', he is known as , probably a slavicized versio ...

) who came from

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and established himself at

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

in the mid-10th century.

Life

It has been speculated that Rogneda belonged to the

Ynglings The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

royal family of present day Sweden. According to the Novgorod Fourth Chronicle, in or about 980,

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

, on learning that she was betrothed to his half-brother

Yaropolk I of Kiev Yaropolk I Sviatoslavich (Old East Slavic: Ꙗрополкъ Свѧтославичъ, transliterated as ''Iaropolk Svyatoslavich''; Russian: ; Ukrainian: Ярополк I Святославич; 952 – 11 June 978) was a young and rather enig ...

, took Polotsk and forced Rogneda to marry him. Having raped Rogneda in the presence of her parents, he ordered them to be killed, along with two of Rogneda's brothers. Rogneda gave him several children. The four sons were

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was al ...

(though some accounts suggest he may have been the son of Anna Porphyrogenita), Vsevolod,

Mstislav of Chernigov Mstislav Vladimirovich (; ; ) was the earliest attested prince of Tmutarakan and Chernigov in Kievan Rus'. He was a younger son of Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev. His father appointed him to rule Tmutarakan, an important fortress by th ...

, and

Izyaslav of Polotsk Izyaslav (russian: Изяслав, be, Ізяслаў) was the son of Vladimir I of Kiev and Rogneda of Polotsk. When his father converted to Christianity in 988, he had to divorce all his previous wives, including Rogneda. She and her son Izyas ...

. She also bore two daughters, one of whom is named by

Nestor the Chronicler Saint Nestor the Chronicler ( orv, Несторъ Лѣтописецъ; 1056 – c. 1114, in Principality of Kiev, Kievan Rus') was the reputed author of '' Primary Chronicle'' (the earliest East Slavic letopis), ''Life of the Venerable The ...

as Predslava (taken as a concubine of Boleslaus I of Poland, according to Gallus). A later chronicle tells a story, most likely taken from a

Norse saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Pl ...

, of Rogneda plotting against Vladimir and asking her elder son, Izyaslav, to kill him. As was the Norse royal custom, she was sent with her elder son to govern the land of her parents, i.e. Polotsk. Izyaslav's line continued to rule Polotsk and the newly found town of Izyaslavl, now called

Zaslawye Zaslawye or Zaslaŭje ( be, Засла́ўе, ; russian: Засла́вль; pl, Zasław; lt, Zaslavlis) is a historical town in the Minsk Region of Belarus, 20 kilometres northwest of Minsk. In 2009 its population was 14,400. History Accor ...

. After Vladimir converted to Christianity and took

Anna Porphyrogeneta Anna Porphyrogenita ( grc-x-medieval, Ἄννα Πορφυρογεννήτη, translit=Anna Porphyrogennētē, rus, Анна Византийская, uk, Анна Порфірогенета; 13 March 963 – 1011) was a Grand Princess consort ...

as his wife, he had to divorce all his previous wives, including Rogneda. After that, she entered the convent and took the name Anastasia.

Legacy

Around 1825 Kondraty Ryleev wrote a narrative poem entitled ''Rogneda''. This poem became a literary source for her portrayal in the nationalist Russian opera '' Rogneda'' by

Alexander Serov Alexander Nikolayevich Serov (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Серо́в, Saint Petersburg, – Saint Petersburg, ) was a Russian composer and music critic. He is notable as one of the most important music critics in ...

, which premiered in 1865.

Issue

By Vladimir the Great: #

(born c. 979, Kiev), Prince of Polotsk (989–1001) #

(born no earlier than 983), Prince of

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

(988–1010), Prince of Novgorod (1010–1034), Grand Prince of Kiev (1016–1018, 1019–1054). Possibly he was a son of Anna rather than Rogneda. Another interesting fact that he was younger than Sviatopolk according to the words of Boris in the '' Tale of Bygone Years'' and not as it was officially known. #

(born c. 983), Prince of

Tmutarakan Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Se ...

(990–1036), Prince of

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...

(1024–1036), other sources claim him to be son of other mothers (Adela,

Malfrida Malfrida (died 1000) was probably the Bohemian wife of the grand prince of Kiev Vladimir I of Kiev. Primary Chronicle mentioned about a death of woman named ''Malfrida''. Russian historian Vasily Tatishchev supposed that Malfrida was a Bohemian wif ...

, or some other Bulgarian wife) # Predslava,

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Bolesław I Chrobry Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

according to

Gesta principum Polonorum The ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (; "''Deeds of the Princes of the Poles''") is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most lik ...

# Premislava (died 1015), some source state that she was a wife of the Duke Laszlo (Vladislav) "the Bald" of Arpadians # Mstislava, in 1018 was taken by

among the other daughters # Ariogia (?)

Life

Legacy

Issue

Sources

See also