Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok ("Little Beaver") was a general,

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

and brother-in-law of

Dmitry I of Moscow Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

. His military prowess is glorified in the 15th-century ''

Tale of the Rout of Mamai Tale may refer to: * Narrative, or story, a report of real or imaginary connected events * TAL effector (TALE), a type of DNA binding protein * Tale, Albania, a resort town * Tale, Iran, a village * Tale, Maharashtra, a village in Ratnagiri distri ...

''. Bobrok's parentage is the subject of a long-running dispute. Most sources call him a

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

n princeling. He could have been a junior member of the Rurikid House of Ostrog or a grandson of

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from ...

of Lithuania, probably one of

Karijotas Karijotas or Koriat (baptized ''Michal''; died between 1358 and 1363) was the Duke of Navahrudak ( lt, Naugardukas) and Vaŭkavysk ( lt, Valkaviskas), one of the sons of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. According to Polish historian Jan Tęgow ...

's sons. It has also been speculated that he held the village of Bobrka on the

Boberka River Boberka ( ua, Боберка) is a village (''selo'') in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, in south-west Ukraine. It belongs to Borynia settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The village was established in 1537. The founder, Ivan Volosh, spo ...

as a fief from

Liubartas Demetrius of Liubar or Liubartas (also ''Lubart'', ''Lubko'', ''Lubardus'', baptized ''Dmitry''; died ) was Prince of Lutsk and Liubar (Volhynia) (1323–1383), Prince of Zhytomyr (1363–1374), Grand Prince of Volhynia (1340–1383), Grand Princ ...

.Власьев Г. А. Род Волынских. СПб.: Тип. Морского Министерства, 1911. Стр. 2. Bobrok was one of the first Lithuanian princes to enter the Muscovite service. He led the Muscovite army against

Oleg II of Ryazan Oleg II Ivanovich was Prince of Ryazan and Grand Prince of Ryazan from 1350 to 1402. He is best known for his rivalry with Prince Dmitry of Moscow and his mysterious role in Battle of Kulikovo. Oleg was nominally an ally of Golden Horde, bu ...

in 1371 and successfully raided

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state ...

in 1376. He was in charge of the conquest of

Severia Severia or Siveria ( orv, Сѣверія, russian: Северщина, translit=Severshchina, uk, Сіверія or , translit. ''Siveria'' or ''Sivershchyna'') is a historical region in present-day southwest Russia, northern Ukraine, eastern B ...

in 1379 and was in command of a regiment lying in ambush during the great

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo (russian: Мамаево побоище, Донское побоище, Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command ...

in 1380. Bobrok is not mentioned in any sources after 1389.

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (russian: Валентин Лаврентьевич Янин; 6 February 1929 – 2 February 2020) was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals ...

has speculated that he took the tonsure after his son had been killed by a fall from a horse. The Bobrenev Monastery in

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the first time in 1177, Kol ...

claims Bobrok as its founder. Yanin has argued that St.

Michael of Klopsk Michael of Klopsk (russian: Михаил Клопский - ''Mikhail Klopsky''), died ca. 1458, was a 15th-century Russian Orthodox fool-for-Christ's-sake associated with the Klopsky Monastery of the Holy Trinity near Novgorod on the river Veryaz ...

was his son or grandson.Янин В. Л. К вопросу о происхождении Михаила Клопского // Археографический ежегодник за 1978 г. — М.: Наука, 1979. — С. 52—61. The Volynsky boyar family also claims patrilineal descent from Bobrok.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobrok, Dmitry Mikhailovich Gediminids Boyars 14th-century Russian people Russian military leaders