Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok ("Little Beaver") was a general, boyar and brother-in-law of Dmitry I of Moscow. His military prowess is glorified in the 15th-century Tale of the Rout of Mamai .
A boyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Bulgarian, Kievan, Moscovian, Serbian, Wallachian, Moldavian, and later Romanian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes from the 10th century to the 17th century. The rank has lived on as a surname in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, and in Finland, where it is spelled Pajari.
Bobrok's parentage is the subject of a long-running dispute. Most sources call him a Volhynian princeling. He could have been a junior member of the Rurikid House of Ostrog [1] or a grandson of Gediminas of Lithuania, probably one of Karijotas's sons. [2] It has also been speculated that he held the village of Bobrka on the Boberka River as a fief from Liubartas. [3]
Volhynia, is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, situated between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. While the borders of the region are not clearly defined, the territory that still carries the name is Volyn Oblast, located in western Ukraine. Volhynia has changed hands numerous times throughout history and been divided among competing powers. At one time all of Volhynia was part of the Pale of Settlement designated by Imperial Russia on its southwestern-most border.
The Ostrogski family was one of the greatest Polish-Ruthenian families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The family spanned from the 14th century to the 17th century. After the death of the last male heir of the Ostrogoski family, Janusz Ostrogski, most of the family's possessions were passed to the Zasławski family.
Gediminas was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which, at the time of his death, spanned the area ranging from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Also seen as one of the most significant individuals in early Lithuanian history, he was responsible for both building Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and establishing a dynasty that later came to rule other European countries such as Poland, Hungary and Bohemia.
Bobrok was one of the first Lithuanian princes to enter the Muscovite service. He led the Muscovite army against Oleg II of Ryazan in 1371 and successfully raided Volga Bulgaria in 1376. He was in charge of the conquest of Severia in 1379 and was in command of a regiment lying in ambush during the great Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.
Oleg II Ivanovich was Prince of Ryazan and Grand Prince of Ryazan from 1350 to 1402.
Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulghar, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia.
Severia or Siveria is a historical region in present-day central-west Russia, northern Ukraine, eastern Belarus.The largest part lies in todays Russia while the center of the region is the city Novhorod-Siverskyi in Ukraine.
Bobrok is not mentioned in any sources after 1389. Valentin Yanin has speculated that he took the tonsure after his son had been killed by a fall from a horse. The Bobrenev Monastery in Kolomna claims Bobrok as its founder. Yanin has argued that St. Michael of Klopsk was his son or grandson. [4] The Volynsky boyar family also claims patrilineal descent from Bobrok. [3]
Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin is a leading Russian historian who has authored 700 books and articles. He has also edited a number of important journals and primary sources, including works on medieval Russian law, sphragistics and epigraphy, archaeology and history. His expertise is medieval Rus' especially Novgorod the Great, where he has headed archaeological digs beginning in 1962.
Kolomna is an ancient city of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, 114 kilometers (71 mi) southeast of Moscow. Population: 144,589 (2010 Census); 150,129 (2002 Census); 161,881 (1989 Census).
Michael of Klopsk, died ca. 1458, was a 15th-century Russian Orthodox fool-for-Christ's-sake associated with the Klopsky Holy Trinity Monastery near Novgorod on the river Veryazha.
