Mikhail Vsevolodovich ( – 20 September 1246), known as Michael or Mikhail of Chernigov, was

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

(1236–1239; 1241–1243); he was also

Prince of Pereyaslavl The Prince of Pereyaslavl () was the ruler of the Principality of Pereyaslavl, a lordship based on the city of Pereyaslavl on the Trubizh River, and straddling extensive territory to the east in what are now parts of Ukraine. It was situated on t ...

(1206), Novgorod-Seversk (1219–1226),

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

(1223–1235; 1242–1246),

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

(1225–1226; 1229–1230), and Galicia (1235–1236). Archaeological evidence reveals that Chernigov towns enjoyed an unprecedented degree of prosperity during his period which suggests that promoting

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

was a priority for him. Commercial interests, in part, also motivated him to seize control of

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

and

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

because they were channels through which goods from the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

valley and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

passed to Chernigov. He also negotiated commercial treaties and political alliances with the

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. He alleviated the

tax burden In economics, tax incidence or tax burden is the effect of a particular tax on the distribution of economic welfare. Economists distinguish between the entities who ultimately bear the tax burden and those on whom the tax is initially imposed. The ...

of the Novgorodians and granted their

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

s greater political freedom from the prince. During the

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...

(1237–1242), Mikhail was defeated and had to flee; in 1246, he was executed by

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

Legacy

''Vita'' of Michael of Chernigov

A hagiography ''vita'' of Michael of Chernigov was written some time after his death, describing his life in detail, and framing his execution as

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

. It is unclear when this account was written (at least after the Mongol census in Suzdalia and Novgorod in 1257–59), and how historically reliable it is. Mikhail's death is briefly mentioned in the Older Recension of ''

Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle ( rus, Новгоро́дская пе́рвая ле́топись, Novgoródskaya pérvaya létopisʹ, nəvɡɐˈrot͡skəjə ˈpʲervəjə ˈlʲetəpʲɪsʲ, commonly abbreviated as NPL), also known by its 1914 Eng ...

'' (compiled 1275), in the '' Laurentian Codex'' (compiled 1377), and in the ''

Hypatian Codex The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicle, Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and ''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important sou ...

'' (compiled 1425), but the full text of the ''vita'' is not found in these manuscripts. It is not until the Younger Recension of the ''Novgorod First Chronicle'' (compiled 1450) that an extensive narrative of his demise appears, stating that the bodies of Mikhail and Fedor were thrown to the dogs; but as a sign of divine favor, their bodies remained unmolested and pillars of fire hovered over them. The ''

Nikon Chronicle The ''Nikon Chronicle'' () is a compilation of Russian chronicles undertaken at the court of Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century. The compilation was named after Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, who owned a copy. In the 18th century, it was publi ...

'' (compiled 1550) added even more text to Mikhail's ''vita'', including claims that the Mongols already established a system of military governors and tax collectors in all cities of Kievan Rus' in 1237–1240, which is historically very unlikely.

Carpine account

Giovanni da Pian del Carpine Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (or Carpini; anglicised as ''John of Plano Carpini''; – 1 August 1252) was a medieval Italian diplomat, Catholic archbishop, explorer and one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of t ...

, an Italian

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

who travelled through the lands of former Kievan Rus' in the late 1240s, wrote the following account of his death in the '' Ystoria Mongalorum'':

Genealogy

Marriage and children

Michael married once and had several children. * Elena Romanovna (or Maria Romanovna) (m. 1210 or 1211), a daughter of prince Roman Mstislavich of Halych and his wife, Predslava Rurikovna of Kiev #Feodula Mikhailovna (1212 – 1250); became a nun and adopted the religious name Evfrosinia; #Duke Rostislav Mikhailovich of Macsó (b. c. 1225 – 1262); # Maria Mikhailovna (? – 7 or 9 December 1271), wife of Prince Vasilko Konstantinovich of Rostov; #Prince Roman Mikhailovich of Chernigov and Bryansk (c. 1218 – after 1288/1305); #Prince Mstislav Mikhailovich of Karachev and Zvenigorod (1220 – 1280); #Prince Simeon Mikhailovich of Glukhov and Novosil; #Prince Yury Mikhailovich of Torusa and Bryansk.

Ancestors

Descendants

The later

Upper Oka Principalities In Russian historiography the term Upper Oka Principalities () traditionally applies to about a dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of the Oka River at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. They were reigned b ...

of the 14th and 15th centuries were reigned by the "upper princes", each of which descended from Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. In the second half of the 19th century, many family branches stemming from Mikhail flourished: the Baryatinsky, the Gorchakovy, the Dolgorukie, the Eletskie, the Zvenigorodskie, the Koltsovy-Mosalskie, the Obolenskie, the Odoevskie, and the Shcherbatovy.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

, '' Ystoria Mongalorum'' (1240s) ** Modern edition: DiPlano Carpini, Giovanni ''(Author)'' - Hildinger, Erik ''(Translator)'': ''The Story of the Mongols whom We Call the Tartars''; Branden Publishing Company, Inc, 1996, Boston, MA; . * '' Galician–Volhynian Chronicle'' (1290s; oldest copy ''

'' 1425) **
''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''
(years 1245–1260). (interpreted by Leonid Makhnovets) ** (pages 52–53 relate the death of Michael of Chernigov) * ''Suzdal'–Vladimirian Chronicle'' (1305; oldest copy '' Laurentian Codex'' 1377) (L. 165 ''sub anno'' 6754 (1246) relates the death of Michael of Chernigov)

Scholarly literature

* Dimnik, Martin, ''Mikhail, Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev, 1224–1246'' (1981). pp. 215. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. ISBN 978-0888440525. * Dimnik, Martin, ''The Dynasty of Chernigov, 1146–1246'' (2003). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * (e-book). * * Vernadsky, George, ''Kievan Russia''; Yale University Press, 1948, New Haven and London; . {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael of Chernigov 1180s births 1246 deaths 13th-century murdered monarchs Murdered royalty of Kievan Rus' Olgovichi family Grand princes of Kiev Princes of Chernigov Princes of Galicia Princes of Novgorod Christian saints from Kievan Rus' 13th-century Christian saints 13th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 13th-century princes from Kievan Rus' People executed by the Golden Horde Year of birth uncertain