Malusha

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Malusha Malkovna
Born944?
Liubech
Died1000
Spouse Sviatoslav I
Issue Vladimir Sviatoslavich
FatherMalk of Liubech

Malusha Malkovna [1] [2] (Old East Slavic : Малушa) was allegedly a servant (kholopka) for Olga of Kiev and concubine of Sviatoslav I of Kiev. According to Slavonic chronicles, she was the mother of Vladimir the Great and sister of Dobrynya. The Norse sagas describe Vladimir's mother as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. There are monuments of Malusha with her young son, Vladimir, in Korosten, Ukraine.

Origin

As the chronicles are silent on the subject of Malusha's pedigree, 19th-century Russian historians devised various theories to explain her parentage and name.

Malusha Malkovna is said to be the daughter of Malk of Liubech, prince of the Drevlians. [3] [4] The same one that wanted to marry Olga of Kiev after she became a widow. [5] However, historian Leo Loewenson rebutted that Malk was not Drevlian nor a prince, pointing out that the Primary Chronicle only mentions his name as 'Malk Lyubechinin' or 'Malk of Lyubech' and that "there is not the faintest indication that Malyusha's father was a prince". Loewenson further notes that Lyubech "was a town of the Severians not the Drevlians". [6]

Dmitry Prozorovsky believed that Malusha was the daughter of Mal, a Drevlyan leader. The same one that wanted to marry Olga of Kiev after she became a widow.[ citation needed ]

The Primary Chronicle records that a certain "Malfrid" died in 1000. This record follows that of Rogneda's death. Since Rogneda was Vladimir's wife, historians assume that Malusha was another close relative of the ruling prince, preferably his wife or mother.

The anti-Normanist historian Dmitry Ilovaisky managed to draw an opposite conclusion: that the Slavic name Malusha was turned into a Scandinavian Malfried. This claim received no wider support.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga of Kiev</span> Princess of Kiev, Orthodox saint (c. 890–925)

Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа. She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor. Even though it was her grandson Vladimir who adopted Christianity and made it the state religion, she was the first ruler to be baptized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir the Great</span> Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 to 1015

Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych, given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox Church canonised him as Saint Vladimir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sviatoslav I</span> Prince of Kiev from 945 to 972

Sviatoslav or Svyatoslav I Igorevich was Prince of Kiev from 945 until his death in 972. He is known for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers in Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars (Hungarians).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaroslav the Wise</span> Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 to 1054

Yaroslav I Vladimirovich, 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, uniting the principalities for a time. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George after Saint George.

<i>Primary Chronicle</i> 12th-century chronicle of Kievan Rus

The Primary Chronicle, shortened from the common Russian Primary Chronicle, is a chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been originally compiled in or near Kiev in the 1110s. Tradition ascribed its compilation to the monk Nestor beginning in the 12th century, but this is no longer believed to have been the case.

The Grand Prince of Kiev was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and the Mongol Golden Horde governors, and later was taken over by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor of Kiev</span> Prince of Kiev from 912 to 945

Igor was Prince of Kiev from 912 to 945. Traditionally, he is considered to be the son of Rurik, who established himself at Novgorod and died in 879 while Igor was an infant. According to the Primary Chronicle, Rurik was succeeded by Oleg, who ruled as regent and was described by the chronicler as being "of his kin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaropolk I of Kiev</span> Prince of Kiev from 972 to 978

Yaropolk I Sviatoslavich was Prince of Kiev from 972 to 978. He was the oldest son of Sviatoslav I. His mother was Malusha, who was a steward in the household of his grandmother, Olga of Kiev.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir II Monomakh</span> Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125

Vladimir II Monomakh was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125. He is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on May 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianization of Kievan Rus'</span>

The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his efforts seem to have entailed no lasting consequences, since the Russian Primary Chronicle and other Slavonic sources describe the tenth-century Rus' as still firmly entrenched in Slavic paganism. The traditional view, as recorded in the Russian Primary Chronicle, is that the definitive Christianization of Kievan Rus' dates happened c. 988, when Vladimir the Great was baptized in Chersonesus (Korsun) and proceeded to baptize his family and people in Kiev. The latter events are traditionally referred to as baptism of Rus' in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogneda of Polotsk</span> Princess of Polotsk

Rogneda Rogvolodovna, also known as Ragnhild (Ragnheiðr), is a person mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as having been a princess of Polotsk, the daughter of Rogvolod (Ragnvald), who came from Scandinavia and established himself at Polotsk in the mid-10th century. Vladimir the Great is narrated as having killed her father and taking her as one of his wives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrey Bogolyubsky</span> Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1157 to 1174

Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky, was Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1157 until his death. During repeated internecine wars between the princely clans, Andrey accompanied his father Yuri Dolgorukiy during a brief capture of Kiev in 1149. 20 years later, his son led the Sack of Kiev (1169). He was canonized as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1702.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drevlians</span> Ethnic group

The Drevlians, Derevlians or Derevlianians were a tribe of East Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories of Polesia and right-bank Ukraine, west of the eastern Polans and along the lower reaches of the rivers Teteriv, Uzh, Ubort, and Stsviha. To the west, the Drevlians' territories reached the Sluch River, where the Volhynians and Buzhans lived. To the north, the Drevlians' neighbors were the Dregoviches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Askold and Dir</span> Earliest known Norse rulers of Kiev

Askold and Dir, mentioned in both the Primary Chronicle, the Novgorod First Chronicle, and the Nikon Chronicle, were the earliest known rulers of Kiev.

Anna Porphyrogenita was the grand princess consort of Kiev during her marriage to Vladimir the Great.

The family of Vladimir I, popularly known as Vladimir the Great, prince of Kievan Rus', is subject to scholarly studies. The primary sources about his life, such as the Primary Chronicle and the Chronicon Thietmari of Thietmar of Merseburg, are legendary, and require critical scrutiny to separate fact from fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principality of Polotsk</span> Medieval principality of the Early East Slavs

The Principality of Polotsk, also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' mention Polotsk being conquered by Vladimir the Great, and thereafter it became associated with Kievan Rus' and its ruling Rurik dynasty.

Sveneld, is a semi-legendary 10th-century Varangian warlord in the service of Sviatoslav I and his family. Most of the information about Sveneld is scarce. He is described as a rich man and a voevoda of Kievan Rus', but his relation to the reigning Rurikid princes, if it existed, has not been positively established.

Malfrida or Malfrid is the name of a woman who died in 1000 according to the Primary Chronicle (PVL).

References

  1. Vladimir Plougin: Russian Intelligence Services: The Early Years, 9th-11th Centuries, Algora Publ., 2000
  2. History of Ukraine-Rus': From prehistory to the eleventh century, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, 1997
  3. "Malusha Lubechanka". 4 January 2024.
  4. С. Н. Азбелев. Устная история в памятниках Новгорода и Новгородской земли. ISBN   9785860075351. Page 90.
  5. Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio. p. 210. ISBN   1-57607-063-8.
  6. Loewenson, Leo (1947). "Review of The Beginnings of Russian History. An Enquiry into Source". The Slavonic and East European Review. 25 (65): 587–593. ISSN   0037-6795. JSTOR   4203877.