Maria Dobroniega (after 1012 – 13 December 1087) was a princess of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

, by marriage to

Casimir I the Restorer Casimir I the Restorer (; 25 July 1016 – 19 March 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 because ...

she was titled Duchess of Poland.

Life

Family

Maria was one of the younger children of Vladimir I, Grand Prince of Kiev. The identity of her mother is disputed among historians and web sources. Grand Prince Vladimir I had married seven times and had fathered many children, legitimate and illegitimate.

Anna Porphyrogeneta Anna Porphyrogenita (Greek: Άννα Πορφυρογέννητη) (13 March 963 – 1011) was the grand princess consort of Kiev during her marriage to Vladimir the Great. Life Anna was the daughter of Byzantine emperor Romanos II and the Empre ...

, his sixth wife, is known to have predeceased Vladimir by four years. Chronicle

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death in 1018, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynas ...

, writing from contemporary accounts, mentions that Bolesław I of Poland captured Vladimir I's widow during his raid on

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, ...

in 1018. The historians long had no clue as to identity of this wife. The emigre historian Nicholas Baumgarten, however, pointed to the controversial record of the '' Genealogia Welforum'' and the ''

Historia Welforum Weingartensis The ''Historia Welforum'' is an anonymous Latin prose chronicle of the House of Welf written around 1170. The original covers the period –1167, but continuations bring it down to 1208. Because two manuscript copies originate in Weingarten Abbey ...

'' that one daughter of Count Kuno von Oenningen (future Duke Konrad I of Swabia) by "filia Ottonis Magni imperatoris" (

Otto the Great Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...

's daughter; possibly Rechlinda Otona egelindis claimed by some as illegitimate daughter and by others legitimate, born from his first marriage with Edith of England) married "rex Rugorum" (King of Rus). He interpreted this evidence as pertaining to Vladimir I's last wife. This woman is a possible identity for Maria's mother.

Marriage

Maria married around 1040 to

, Duke of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. This marriage helped Casimir to gain support in his reclaim over the Polish throne. Casimir had attempted to seize the throne twice before, both times he failed. With the support of Maria's brother,

Yaroslav I the Wise Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...

, Casimir was able to make a successful claim.

Issue

The couple had five children: *

Bolesław II the Bold Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Co ...

(1043 – .) *

Władysław I Herman Władysław I Herman ( 1044 – 4 June 1102) was the duke of Poland from 1079 until his death. Accession Władysław was the second son of the Polish duke Casimir the Restorer and Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. As the second son, Władysław was not ...

(1044 – .) *

Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a ...

(.) *Otto (1046 – 1048, died in infancy.) *

Świętosława Świętosława was a Polish princess, the daughter of Mieszko I of Poland and sister of Bolesław I of Poland, who married two Scandinavian kings. Some chroniclers recount that a princess, whose name is not given, was married first to Eric ...

(1048 – ), married in 1062 to Duke (and since 1085 King)

Vratislaus II of Bohemia Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) () ( 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I of Bohemia, Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Ho ...

. Maria's husband died on 28 November 1058. Her sixteen-year-old son, Bolesław, later (1076) became

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. Bolesław II is considered one of the most capable of the Piast rulers. However, he was deposed and expelled from the country in 1079. Maria survived her oldest son by five or six years, dying in 1087.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Dobroniega of Kiev 1010s births 1087 deaths Mothers of Polish monarchs Year of birth uncertain Daughters of Grand Princes of Kiev 11th-century women from Kievan Rus' Family of Vladimir the Great Queens consort of Poland 11th-century people from Kievan Rus' 11th-century Polish women 11th-century Polish people Children of Vladimir the Great