One of the most literally jaw-dropping experiences in Kyiv was visiting the magnificent Saint Sophia's Cathedral, founded by the Kyivan Grand Prince Yaroslav between 1017 and 1037. Not least the beautifully preserved 11th century frescoes and mosaics, covering the walls and ceilings, had nearly Stendhal-syndrome-inducing effects on me. But the story behind the founder and his wife, and their Swedish/Viking connection is just as fascinating.
It was here, with Kyiv as the center, that there was a Christian-Orthodox state called Rus about 1,000 years ago, which constituted the embryo of latter-day Russia. The Rus were Norsemen astray in modern Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, that eventually came under the leadership of the viking chieftain Rurik (c. 830 – 879). The Kievan Rus' would rule those areas for more than 700 years, from 862 until 1610.
Some time around year 1000, Olof Skötkonung's (the first Swedish king that was baptized and contributed to Sweden's Christianisation) wife, Estrid, gave birth to a daughter named Ingegerd, who would become far more famous than even her father. Unlike her younger brother Jakob and her half-sister Astrid, Ingegerd grew up with her parents and got to meet many of the most important people of the time. Ingegerd is said to have been a very beautiful woman and her father's treasure. She was never afraid to speak her mind, even if it would happen to be the opposite of Olof's opinion.
As a princess, Ingegerd of course had many admirers. The one who first proposed, albeit via a representative, was Norway's young king Olav. The proposal made Olof completely furious, as he and the Norwegian king were bitter enemies. Olav's proposal to Ingegerd was an attempt to reconcile the two kings, but numeral proposals were rejected by the Swedish king, even though Ingegerd herself spoke warmly of the Norwegian king and appealed to her father.
However, it did not take long before a new messenger appeared, this time from Prince Yaroslav The Wise of Novgorod, a descendant of Rurik.
Olof Skötkonung was relieved and approved of the wedding. Ingegerd said yes on a few conditions: she wanted the father's cousin Ragnvald Jarl to accompany her to the east, and she also wanted the town of Aldeigjuborg (today Staraya Ladoga) with related areas as enfeoffment, which the father and Yaroslav accepted.
As usual around this time, Yaroslav's courtship did not arise from emotion, but was more a means of networking and gaining support. In 1014, according to the Russian chronicles, he had refused to pay his tribute to his father Volodymyr, the king who Christianized the Kievan Rus. The father then began to prepare a military campaign against his own son. Yaroslav knew he couldn't fight his fathers army alone, and thought a marriage would help achieve an intimate covenant with the Swedish king.
As a son-in-law to Olof, Yaroslav was able to make use of assistance in the form of soldiers from him or, in case of emergency, obtain permission to recruit soldiers in his country without obstacles. In 1015, Yaroslav turned to the Norwegians for help and received a large army of viking warriors. Only Volodymyr's disease and death prevented a civil war. After the death of Volodymyr, the problem with the tribute remained, only with the difference that he now was in debt to Sviatopolk the Accursed.
In the fall of 1016, Yaroslav sent his envoys with the final terms of the agreed marriage, and Ingegerd, hereinafter referred to as Irina, now became Princess Irina of Novgorod. The heroic Norwegian tales of Ejmund and Ragnar in Russia tells us a bit about Irina's first year in Novgorod.
Ejmund and Ragnar with warriors arrived in Novgorod towards the end of the year 1016 to serve the founder Yaroslav in the fight against his adopted brother Sviatopolk. Irina arrived simultaneously.
After the first war against Sviatopolk, the relationship with the Norwegians had deteriorated, and the prince and princess were forced to go to battle against the mercenaries when they switched sides to fight for their opponent, Bryachislav of Polotsk.
To wage a war Yaroslav sent Irina and Ragnvald Jarl in an attempt to stop them by brute force, and the princess was taken hostage. The chronicles tell of Irina's influence on the further development and on Prince Yaroslav. She appears to have guided Yaroslav on the battlefield to a great extent, and the termination of the long war against Bryachislav of Polotsk is attributed to her as a mediator in the negotiations between Yaroslav and Bryachislav.
When Yaroslav and Vseslav's forces stood against each other, Ejmund made a plan to capture Irina as she was traveling to Yaroslavs camp. Ejmund and Ragnar killed her horse and managed to bring her to Vseslav's camp, where Irina angrily is to have shouted "Will you Norwegians never cease to insult me?"
The next morning Irina talked with Ejmund and made peace offerings. She was instrumental in the drafting of the peace proposal, which was also adopted. Thanks to the peace, her good relationship with the Norwegians was restored.
Judging by Russian chronicles, Irina didn't stay for a long time in Novgorod since the royal court was moved to Kyiv. By 1035 Yaroslav and Irina had been successful in defeating and maneuvering all competitors for the power in Russia. Thus began the first golden age of the Russian Empire.
From Yaroslav and Irina's marriage, seven sons and three daughters are known. The sons were Ilya, Vladimir, Iziaslav, Sviatoslav, Vsevolod, Igor and Vyacheslav.
Of the daughters, Elisabet (Ellisiv) became married to perhaps the most famous Norwegian viking, Harald Hardrada, a Varangian and brother in arms of Yaroslav in Byzantium between 1034-1043. A second daughter, Anastasia, married Hungary's future king Andreas. The third daughter, Anna, married Henrik I of France, one of the first in the Capetian dynasty. When Anna arrived in France, she raised a lot of sensation in the court since she was both able to read and write. Irina is thus the progenitress of many of the Royal houses of Europe.
Irina's marriage to Yaroslav would last for a whole 30 years, but apparently she had not forgotten about her Norwegian admirer Olav Haraldsson. When he fled from Norway in 1028, he found sanctuary at Irina in Novgorod. The Icelandic tale Edmund's Saga tells that Irina and Olav loved each other secretly.
Irina also adopted Olav's son Magnus. When Olav returned to Norway and died there at the Battle of Stiklestad, the boy stayed with Irina. He would later become king of Norway and Denmark, known as Magnus the Good.
According to Orthodox sources, Irina devoted a great deal of time to the Church and religious life. At the end of her life she created a nunnery and became a nun under the name of Anna. She died in Novogorod on February 10, 1050, and was buried in Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv. Irina's remains rest with her husband in a large sarcophagus in the cathedral. When Soviet archeologists opened the grave in 1939, Saint Annas's well-preserved skull was of "Nordic type, solid and heavy with an elliptical shape" and they concluded that she was about 162 cm tall. Saint Anna, or Ingegerd if you will, is still to this day celebrated according to the calendar of Ukrainian Orthodox Saints on February 10th. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes I'm actually proud to be a Swede.