Gertrude-Olisava (c. 1025 – 4 January 1108), princess of
Poland, was the daughter of King
Mieszko II of Poland and Queen
Richeza of Lotharingia, and the great-granddaughter of German Emperor
Otto II.
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, 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.
Marriage and Children
In 1043, Gertrude married
Iziaslav I of Kiev, a son of
Yaroslav the Wise, with whom she had two sons:
Yaropolk Iziaslavich
Yaropolk Iziaslavich or Yaropolk Iziaslavych (died 1087) was a ''Kniaz'' (prince) during the eleventh-century in the Kievan Rus' kingdom and was the King of Rus (1076–1087). The son of Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev (Kyiv) by a Polish prin ...
and
Mstislav, and a daughter, Eupraxia, who later married the Prince of
Kraków,
Mieszko Bolesławowic of the
Piast dynasty
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branch ...
.
[ ] Often acknowledged as her son,
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
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
, known as the ''
Egbert Psalter'' or ''Trier Psalter'', which had been created in the late 10th century for archbishop
Egbert of Trier. She included her prayer book as part of the
codex
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
. 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, 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, 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