Euphrosyne of Kiev
Encyclopedia
Euphrosyne of Kiev (c. 1130 – c. 1193) was Queen consort
of Hungary
.
Euphrosyne was the first daughter of Grand Prince
Mstislav I of Kiev
and his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna. In 1146, Euphrosyne married King Géza II of Hungary
, who had come of age shortly before.
During her husband's reign Euphrosyne did not intervene in the politics of the kingdom, but after his death on 31 May 1162, her influence strengthened over their son, King Stephen III
. The young king had to struggle against his uncles Ladislaus
and Stephen
to save his throne, and Euphrosyne took an active part in the struggles. She persuaded King Vladislaus II of Bohemia to give military assistance to her son against the invasion of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
.
Euphrosyne's favourite son was the youngest, Duke Géza of Hungary
. When King Stephen III
died on 4 March 1172, she was planning to ensure his succession against her older son, Béla
, who had been living in the court of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
. However, Béla
came back, and he was crowned on 13 January 1173, although the Archbishop
Lukács of Esztergom
denied his coronation. Shortly after, King Béla III
arrested
his brother, which increased the tension between Euphrosyne and her son. Duke Géza
soon managed to escape, probably with Euphrosyne's help, but in 1177 he was again arrested.
In 1186, Euphrosyne tried to release her younger son again, but she failed. King Béla III
ordered the arrest of Euphrosyne and kept her confined in the fortress of Barancs (Serbian
: Braničevo
). Shortly after, Euphrosyne was set free, but she was obliged to leave the kingdom for Constantinople
. From Constantinople she moved to Jerusalem where she lived as a nun
in the convent
of the Hospitallers
, and then in the Basilian
monastery
of Saint Sabbas.
(1130 – 31 May 1162). They had the following children:
Euphrosyne is an ancestress of Edward III of England
and hence the ancestor of all subsequent English and British monarchs. She is also part of a link connecting the line of Harold Godwinson and the modern line of British monarchs.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Hungary was formed from the previous Principality of Hungarywith the coronation of Stephen I in AD 1000. This was a result of the conversion of Géza of Hungary to the Western Church in the 970s....
.
Euphrosyne was the first daughter of Grand Prince
Grand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
Mstislav I of Kiev
Mstislav I of Kiev
Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great was the Grand Prince of Kiev , the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex...
and his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna. In 1146, Euphrosyne married King Géza II of Hungary
Géza II of Hungary
Géza II , , King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama . He ascended the throne as a child and during his minority the kingdom was governed by his mother and uncle...
, who had come of age shortly before.
During her husband's reign Euphrosyne did not intervene in the politics of the kingdom, but after his death on 31 May 1162, her influence strengthened over their son, King Stephen III
Stephen III of Hungary
Stephen III , King of Hungary King of Croatia and Dalmatia . He ascended the throne as a child and he had to stand up against his uncles who usurped the crown supported by the Byzantine Empire...
. The young king had to struggle against his uncles Ladislaus
Ladislaus II of Hungary
Ladislaus II , King of Hungary. As a younger son, he was able to ascend to the throne only with the assistance of the Byzantine Empire against his nephew, King Stephen III after his brother's death...
and Stephen
Stephen IV of Hungary
Stephen IV , King of Hungary . In his youth, he rebelled against his brother, King Géza II of Hungary and had to flee to the Court of the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel I Komnenos...
to save his throne, and Euphrosyne took an active part in the struggles. She persuaded King Vladislaus II of Bohemia to give military assistance to her son against the invasion of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
.
Euphrosyne's favourite son was the youngest, Duke Géza of Hungary
Géza, royal prince of Hungary
Géza was a Hungarian royal Prince, son of the King Géza II of Hungary. Prince Géza was brother of the King's Stephen III and Béla III of Hungary...
. When King Stephen III
Stephen III of Hungary
Stephen III , King of Hungary King of Croatia and Dalmatia . He ascended the throne as a child and he had to stand up against his uncles who usurped the crown supported by the Byzantine Empire...
died on 4 March 1172, she was planning to ensure his succession against her older son, Béla
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
, who had been living in the court of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
. However, Béla
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
came back, and he was crowned on 13 January 1173, although the Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Lukács of Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
denied his coronation. Shortly after, King Béla III
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
arrested
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
his brother, which increased the tension between Euphrosyne and her son. Duke Géza
Géza of Hungary
Géza , Grand Prince of the Hungarians .Géza was the son of Taksony of Hungary, Grand Prince of the Hungarians and his Pecheneg or Bulgar wife. Géza's marriage with Sarolt, the daughter of Gyula of Transylvania, was arranged by his father.After his father's death , Géza followed him as Grand Prince...
soon managed to escape, probably with Euphrosyne's help, but in 1177 he was again arrested.
In 1186, Euphrosyne tried to release her younger son again, but she failed. King Béla III
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
ordered the arrest of Euphrosyne and kept her confined in the fortress of Barancs (Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Braničevo
Branicevo District
The Braničevo District expands in the north-east of Serbia. It has a population of 180,480. Seat of the District is in the city of Požarevac, a famous cross-roads, with numerous communications running through it still today...
). Shortly after, Euphrosyne was set free, but she was obliged to leave the kingdom for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. From Constantinople she moved to Jerusalem where she lived as a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
in the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of the Hospitallers
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, and then in the Basilian
Basilian monk
Basilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Saint Sabbas.
Marriage and children
In 1146, Euphrosyne married King Géza II of HungaryGéza II of Hungary
Géza II , , King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama . He ascended the throne as a child and during his minority the kingdom was governed by his mother and uncle...
(1130 – 31 May 1162). They had the following children:
- King Stephen III of HungaryStephen III of HungaryStephen III , King of Hungary King of Croatia and Dalmatia . He ascended the throne as a child and he had to stand up against his uncles who usurped the crown supported by the Byzantine Empire...
(1147 – 4 March 1172) - King Béla III of HungaryBéla III of HungaryBéla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
(1148 – 23 April 1196) - Elisabeth (c. 1149 – after 1189), wife of Duke Frederick of BohemiaFrederick of BohemiaFrederick was the duke of Olomouc from 1164 and then duke of Bohemia from 1172 to 1173 and again from 1178 to his death. He was the son of King Vladislaus II, who abdicated in 1172 in his favour...
- Prince GézaGéza, royal prince of HungaryGéza was a Hungarian royal Prince, son of the King Géza II of Hungary. Prince Géza was brother of the King's Stephen III and Béla III of Hungary...
(c. 1150 – before 1210) - Odola (? – ?), wife of Duke Svatopluk of Bohemia
- HelenaHelena of HungaryHelena of Hungary was the daughter of King Géza II of Hungary and his wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev by his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna.-Life:...
(c. 1158 – 25 May 1199), wife of Duke Leopold V of AustriaLeopold V, Duke of AustriaLeopold V , the Virtuous, was a Babenberg duke of Austria from 1177 and of Styria from 1192 until his death...
Euphrosyne is an ancestress of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
and hence the ancestor of all subsequent English and British monarchs. She is also part of a link connecting the line of Harold Godwinson and the modern line of British monarchs.
Sources
- Soltész, István: Árpád-házi királynék (Gabo, 1999)
- Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
- Encyclopedia Britannica (Subscription required)
- Geza II of Hungary (not in English)