Gytha of Wessex (born c. 1053/1061 – died 1098 or 1107; ang, Gȳð) was one of several daughters of

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...

, the last

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

king of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, and his consort,

Edith the Fair Edith the Fair ( ang, Ealdgȳð Swann hnesce, "Edyth the Gentle Swan"; c. 1025 – c. 1066), also known as Edith Swanneck,Her first name is also spelled Ealdgyth, Aldgyth, ''Edeva'' or Eddeva, and sometimes appears as ''Ēadgȳð'' and ''Ēadgif ...

. Through marriage to

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'' ...

, Gytha became a princess of Kievan Rus'.

Life

Her paternal grandparents were

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in Kingdom of England, England under the Denmark, Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his succ ...

and

Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Gytha Thorkelsdóttir ( ang, Gȳða Þorkelsdōttir, 997 – c. 1069), also called Githa, was a Danish noblewoman. She was the wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and the mother of King Harold Godwinson and of Edith of Wessex, who was the queen con ...

. According to the thirteenth-century

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

, after the death of their father King Harold at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

in 1066, Gytha and two of her brothers (probably

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and either Godwin or

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

) escaped to the court of their first cousin once-removed, King Sweyn Estridsson of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The two brothers were treated by Sweyn with hospitality, Magnus entering into high-level service with

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 ...

while Gytha was married to Waldemar, King of

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

, i.e.

, one of the most famous rulers of

Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

. This took place in 1069/1070 when Bolesław restored Grand Prince

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 ...

and

Gertruda 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 Ger ...

(Bolesław's aunt) to power after they had been deposed. Gytha's role in Vladimir's rule is not documented. Vladimir explained in a book of 'Instructions' (''Pouchenie'') for his sons, written in the twelfth-century: “Love your wives, but grant them no power over you.” In his book, Vladimir also mentioned the recent death of

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

's mother. Gytha was the mother of Mstislav the Great, the last ruler of united Kievan Rus. In the

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 Play ...

s, Mstislav is called Harald, after his grandfather. During her lifetime Gytha, as Vladimir's spouse, was princess of

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

, however she died before her husband became

grand prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes grand duke) was the title of the ruler of Kiev and the ruler of Kievan Rus' from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and ...

(in 1113), so she never was grand princess of Kiev.

Children

With Vladimir, Gytha had several children, including: # Mstislav the Great (1076–1132) #Izyaslav Vladimirovich, Prince of

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

(† 6 September 1096) #Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, Prince of

and

Pereyaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta and Trubizh rivers ...

(† 16 March 1114) #

Yaropolk II of Kiev Yaropolk II Vladimirovich Monomakh (russian: Ярополк II Владимирович, uk, Ярополк II Володимирович) (1082 – 18 February 1139), Prince of Pereiaslav (1114–1132), (Grand Prince) of Kiev (1132–1139), so ...

(† 18 February 1139) #

Viacheslav I of Kiev Viacheslav Vladimirovich (russian: Вячеслав Владимирович) (1083 – 2 February 1154) was a Prince of Smolensk (1113–1125), Turov (1125–1132, 1134–1146), Pereyaslavl (1132–1134, 1142), Peresopnytsia (1146–1149), Vy ...

(† 2 February 1154)

Death date

There is a problem with establishing Gytha's date of death. It is placed between 1098 and 1107. The patericon of St Pantaleon Cloister in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

says that "Gytha the Queen" (''Gida regina'') died as a nun on 10 March. The year is presumed to be 1098. According to the "Testament of Vladimir Monomakh"

Yuri Dolgorukiy Yuri I Vladimirovich ( rus, Юрий Владимирович, Yuriy Vladimirovich), commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm ( rus, Юрий Долгорукий, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, meaning "Far-Reaching", c. 109915 May 1157) was a Rur ...

's mother died on 7 May 1107. If Gytha died in 1098 then Yuri could have been a son of his father's second wife Yefimia (whom Vladimir Monomakh in this case supposedly married c.1099). However, it means there are no mentions in Vladimir Monomakh's works of Gytha's death, despite her being his first wife. Yuri's birth then falls to c. 1099/1100. However, the Primary Chronicle records the first marriage of Yuri - on 12 January 1108. It means that Yuri was born before c.1099/1100 (as he could not have been 6–9 years old at the time of marriage). Then it means, that Gytha could have been Yuri's mother and died in 1107.

Legacy

According to Russian politician and historian

Vladimir Medinsky Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky (russian: link=no, Владимир Ростиславович Мединский, uk, Володимир Ростиславович Мединський; born July 18, 1970) is a Russian political figure, acad ...

, Gytha was a significant influence on Monomakh's public relations: "Knyaz's English wife wasn't wasted". As a source, Medinsky quotes M. P. Akekseev's comparative analysis between Monomakh writings' and

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

's, and other anonymous then contemporary Anglo-Saxon texts. Through her son Mstislav the Great she was an ancestor of both

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...

and King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

, hence of all subsequent English and United Kingdom monarchs. Through Mstislav, she was also an ancestor of

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...

His mother Feodosia was great-great-granddaughter of Mstislav the Great. and subsequent major Rurik rulers in Russian history, including Ivan I Kalita,

Dmitry Donskoy 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 ...

Ivan III the Great Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...

and first Tsar of Russia,

Ivan IV the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

Family trees

* Godwin family tree * Cnut the Great's family tree

References

Sources

*''Necrologium Sanctis Pantalaeonis Coloniensis'', in ''Rheinische Urbare: Sammlung von Urbaren und anderen Quellen zur rheinischen Wirtschaftsgeschichte'' (Bonn, 1902), vol. 1. *Saxo Grammaticus, ''Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes'', 2 vols. (Oxford, 2015). * *T. Zajac, 'Marriage Impediments in Canon Law and Practice: Consanguinity Regulations and the Case of Orthodox-Catholic Intermarriage in Kyivan Rus, ca. 1000 – 1250,' in ''Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law, Toronto, 5–11 August 2012'', ed. Joseph Goering, Stephan Dusil, and Andreas Thier (Vatican City, 2016), pp. 711–29. *T. Zajac, ‘The social-political roles of the princess in Kyivan Rus’, ca. 945–1240,’ in E. Woodacre, ed., ''A Global Companion to Queenship'' (Leeds, 2018), pp. 125–146.

External links

*S. Lewis
'Gytha of Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon Russian Princess'
blogpost