YAROSLAV THE WISE, Russian YAROSLAV MUDRY, grand prince of Kiev from 1019 to 1054.

A son of the grand prince Vladimir, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father's death in 1015. Then his eldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian (Viking) mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the grand prince of Kiev in 1019.

Yaroslav began consolidating the Kievan state through both cultural and administrative improvements and through military campaigns. He promoted the spread of Christianity in the Kievan state, gathered a large collection of books, and employed many scribes to translate Greek religious texts into the Slavic language. He founded churches and monasteries and issued statutes regulating the legal position of the Christian Church and the rights of the clergy. With the help of Byzantine architects and craftsmen, Yaroslav fortified and beautified Kiev along Byzantine lines. He built the majestic Cathedral of St. Sophia and the famous Golden Gate of the Kievan fortress. Under Yaroslav the codification of legal customs and princely enactments was begun, and this work served as the basis for a law code called the Russkaya Pravda ("Russian Justice").

Yaroslav pursued an active foreign policy, and his forces won several notable military victories. He regained Galicia from the Poles, decisively defeated the nomadic Pechenegs on the Kievan state's southern frontier, and expanded Kievan possessions in the Baltic region, suppressing the Lithuanians, Estonians, and Finnish tribes. His military campaign against Constantinople in 1043 was a failure, however.

Trade with the East and West played an important role in Kievan Rus in the 11th century, and Yaroslav maintained diplomatic relations with the European states. His daughters Elizabeth, Anna, and Anastasia were married respectively to Harald III of Norway, Henry I of France, and Andrew I of Hungary.

In his testament, Yaroslav sought to prevent a power struggle among his five sons by dividing his empire among them and enjoining the younger four sons to obey the eldest, Izyaslav, who was to succeed his father as grand prince of Kiev. This advice had no lasting effect, and civil war ensued after Yaroslav's death.

The successes of his long reign made it possible for the reign of his son Yaroslav (ruled 1019-54) to produce a flowering of cultural life. But neither Yaroslav, who gained control of Kiev only after a bitter struggle against his brother Svyatopolk (1015-19), nor his successors in Kiev were able to provide lasting political stability within the enormous realm.

Ancestors

Descendants

Descendants of Yaroslav I, (The Wise Kiev)

1 Yaroslav I, (The Wise Kiev) b: 980 in Kiev, Ukraine d: Feb 20, 1053/54 in Kiev, Ukraine Burial: Russia
.... m: Princess Of SWEDEN Ingred b: 1001 in Uppsala,Sweden d: Feb 10, 1049/50 in Kiev, Ukraine
.... m: 1019 in Uppsala,Uppsala,SWEDEN
. 2 Anne JAROSLAWNA b: 1036 in Kiev,Ukraine d: 1076 in France Burial: Villiers Abbey, La-Ferte-Alais, Essonne, France
....... m: Henry Capet I, King of France b: 1006 in Reims, , France d: Aug 4, 1060 in Vitry, Brie, , France
....... m: Jan 29, 1049/50 in France
... 3 Hugh Magnus de Crepi, Duke of France b: 1057 in Vermandois, Normandy, France d: Oct 18, 1101 in Tarsus, Cilicie, Asia Minor
...... Burial: St Paul De Tarse
......... m:Adelaide de Vermandois b: 1062 in Valois, Bretagne, France d: Abt. 1122 in Meulan, France
..... 4 Elizabeth de Vermandois, Countess of Leicester b: 1081 in Vermandois, Normandy d: Abt. 1147 in St. Nicaise, Meulan, France
........... m:William de Warenne II, Earl of Surrey b: Abt. 1067 in Warren, Sussex, England d: May 11, 1138 in bur at Lewes
............m: Abt. 1112
........ 5 Ada de Warenne b: Abt. 1120 in Surrey, England d: 1178 in Kelso
.............. m: Henry, Prince of Scotland, Earl of Huntington) b: Abt. 1115 m: 1139 d: Jun 12, 1152 bur Kelso, Roxborough, Scottland
.............. Burial: Kelso, Roxborogouh, Scotland
........... 6 David de Warenne,(Earl of Huntingdon) b: Abt. 1144 in Huntingdon,Huntingdonshire,Scotland d: Jun 17, 1219 Yardley, Roxburghshire, Scotland .................Burial: Sawtrey Abbey, Hunts
................. m: Maud Kevelioc, (Matilda) b: Abt. 1171 in Chester, England m: Aug 26, 1190 d: Jan 6, 1232/33 in England
............... 7 Ada De Warenne b: Jan 1, 1199/00 d: Aft. 1241
..................... m: Henry I, (Sir; Lord of Harstings) b: Abt. 1200 m: Bef. June 7, 1237 d: August 1250
.................. 8 Henry de Hastings II, (Sir; Lord of Hastings) b: Abt. 1235 in Ashill, Norfolk, England d: Mar 5, 1268/69 in Ashill, Norfolk, England
........................ m: Joan de Cantilupe b: Abt. 1242 d: Abt. 1271
..................... 9 Lora Hastings d: Abt. July 2, 1339
........................... m: Thomas le Latimer, (Baron of Latimer)
......................... 10 Warin de Latimer, (Baron of Latimer) b: Abt. 1300 d: August 13, 1349
............................... m: Catherine de la Warre
............................ 11 Elizabeth de Latimer
.................................. m: Sir Thomas Griffin
............................... 12 Richard Griffin
..................................... m: Anna Chamberlain
................................... 13 Nicholas Griffin I
......................................... m: Margaret Pilkington
...................................... 14 Nicholas Griffin II
............................................ m: Catherine Curzon
......................................... 15 Isabelle Griffin
............................................... m: Thomas Neville