Gertrude-Olisava (c. 1025 – 4 January 1108), princess of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, was the daughter of King
Mieszko II of Poland
Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death.
He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was proba ...
and Queen
Richeza of Lotharingia
Richeza of Lotharingia (also called ''Richenza'', ''Rixa'', ''Ryksa''; born about 995/1000 – 21 March 1063) was a member of the Ezzonen dynasty who became queen of Poland as the wife of Mieszko II Lambert. Her Polish marriage was arranged to s ...
, and the great-granddaughter of German Emperor
Otto II
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...
.
Early life
The exact time and place of Gertude's birth is unknown, with most sources placing it around 1025. It is estimated she stayed in Poland until 1036, then left for Germany with her mother, returning when
Casimir I the Restorer
Casimir I the Restorer (; 25 July 1016 – 28 November 1058), a member of the Piast dynasty, was the duke of Poland from 1040 until his death. Casimir was the son of Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza of Lotharingia. He is known as the Restorer beca ...
, Gertrude's brother established himself as Duke of Poland.
In her early life, she received a thorough education, first, in Poland, then presumably in one of the Abbeys located in the province of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
.
Marriage and Children
In 1043, Gertrude married
Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav Yaroslavich ( orv, Изѧславь Ѩрославичь; russian: Изяслав Ярославич; uk, Ізяслав Ярославич; 1024 – 3 October 1078, baptized as ''Demetrius'') was a Kniaz' ( Prince) of Turov and Gra ...
, a son of
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 ...
, with whom she had two sons:
Yaropolk Iziaslavich and
Mstislav, and a daughter, Eupraxia, who later married the Prince of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Mieszko Bolesławowic
Mieszko Bolesławowic (c. 1069 – 1089) was the only son of Bolesław II the Generous, King of Poland. Mieszko was Prince of Cracow from 1086 until his death in 1089.
Biography
Mieszko was, in all likelihood, born in Cracow sometime around or d ...
of the
Piast dynasty.
[ ] Often acknowledged as her son,
Sviatopolk II of Kiev
Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich ( orv, Свѧтополкъ Изѧславичь; rus, Святополк Изяславич, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich; uk, Святополк Ізяславич; November 8, 1050 – April 16, 1113) was supreme ruler of ...
may have been a son of Izyaslav and a concubine.
On 15 September 1068 Iziaslav suffered a defeat and both she and her husband were expelled from Kiev and settled in Poland. It was then that Gertrude inherited a medieval
illuminated manuscript, known as the ''
Egbert Psalter
The Egbert Psalter (also known as the Gertrude Psalter or Trier Psalter) is a medieval illuminated manuscript Psalter preserved in the municipal museum of Cividale, Italy (Ms. CXXXVI). The psalter is an example of the illuminated manuscripts assoc ...
'' or ''Trier Psalter'', which had been created in the late 10th century for archbishop
Egbert of Trier
Egbert (c. 950 – 9 December 993) was the Archbishop of Trier from 977 until his death.
Egbert was a son of Dirk II, Count of Holland. After being trained in Egmond Abbey, founded and controlled by his family, and at the court of Bruno I, Archb ...
. She included her prayer book as part of the
codex. In the prayer book she prays six times for
Yaropolk, ''unicus filius meus'' (translated as either "my favourite son" or "my only son").
On 2 May 1069
Bolesław II the Generous
Bolesław II the Bold, also known as the Generous ( pl, Bolesław II Szczodry ; ''Śmiały''; c. 1042 – 2 or 3 April 1081 or 1082), was Duke of Poland from 1058 to 1076 and third King of Poland from 1076 to 1079. He was the eldest son of Duk ...
, Gertrude's nephew, helped Izjasław regain control of Kiev. Though on 22 March 1073, the princely couple with their children had to flee to Poland again. This time Bolesław had sided with the Ruthenian opposition, and forced the family to leave for Germany. However, he himself was forced by the pope to reconcile with the couple, which was to be a condition for granting him the royal crown. On 25 December 1076, Gertrude and her husband took part in the coronation of Bolesław in Gniezno .
On 15 July 1077 the couple settled, once again, in Kiev.
After her husband's death in 1078, Gertrude stayed at the court of the youngest son of Yaropolk, the Duke of Turów and Włodzimierz . In 1084 she became a hostage of
Vladimir II Monomakh
Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...
, who had captured
Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...
, where she had taken refuge, abandoned by her son.
She died on 4 January 1108. The place of her burial is unknown.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertrude Of Poland
1020s births
1108 deaths
11th-century Polish people
Kievan Rus' princesses
Ottonian dynasty
Polish princesses
Polish astrologers
Piast dynasty
11th-century Rus' people
11th-century Rus' women
11th-century Polish women