Yaroslav the Wise

A depiction of Yaroslav the Wise from Granovitaya Palata.

The early years of Yaroslav's life are mostly unknown. He was one of the numerous sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk,[3] although his actual age (as stated in the Primary Chronicle and corroborated by the examination of his skeleton in the 1930s)[4] would place him among the youngest children of Vladimir.[5]

It has been suggested that he was a child begotten out of wedlock after Vladimir's divorce from Rogneda and marriage to Anna Porphyrogenita, or even that he was a child of Anna Porphyrogenita herself. French historian Jean-Pierre Arrignon argues that he was indeed Anna's son, as this would explain his interference in Byzantine affairs in 1043.[6]

Furthermore, Yaroslav's maternity by Rogneda of Polotsk has been questioned since Nikolay Kostomarov in the 19th century.[7][8][9] Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse sagas under the name Jarisleif the Lame; his legendary lameness (probably resulting from an arrow wound) was corroborated by the scientists who examined his remains.

In his youth, Yaroslav was sent by his father to rule the northern lands around Rostov. He was transferred to Veliky Novgorod,[10] as befitted a senior heir to the throne, in 1010. While living there, he founded the town of Yaroslavl (literally, "Yaroslav's") on the Volga River. His relations with his father were apparently strained,[10] and grew only worse on the news that Vladimir bequeathed the Kievan throne to his younger son, Boris. In 1014 Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kiev and only Vladimir's death, in July 1015, prevented a war.[10]

During the next four years Yaroslav waged a complicated and bloody war for Kiev against his half-brother Sviatopolk I of Kiev, who was supported by his father-in-law, Duke Bolesław I the Brave (King of Poland from 1025).[11] During the course of this struggle, several other brothers (Boris, Gleb, and Svyatoslav) were brutally murdered.[11][12] The Primary Chronicle accused Sviatopolk of planning those murders.[11] The saga Eymundar þáttr hrings is often interpreted as recounting the story of Boris' assassination by the Varangians in the service of Yaroslav.

However, the victim's name is given there as Burizaf, which is also a name of Boleslaus I in the Scandinavian sources. It is thus possible that the Saga tells the story of Yaroslav's struggle against Sviatopolk (whose troops were commanded by the Polish duke), and not against Boris.

Yaroslav defeated Sviatopolk in their first battle, in 1016, and Sviatopolk fled to Poland.[11] Sviatopolk returned in 1018 with Polish troops furnished by his father-in-law, seized Kiev,[11] and pushed Yaroslav back into Novgorod. Yaroslav prevailed over Sviatopolk, and in 1019 firmly established his rule over Kiev.[13] One of his first actions as a grand prince was to confer on the loyal Novgorodians, who had helped him to gain the Kievan throne, numerous freedoms and privileges.

Thus, the foundation of the Novgorod Republic was laid. For their part, the Novgorodians respected Yaroslav more than they did other Kievan princes; and the princely residence in their city, next to the marketplace (and where the veche often convened) was named Yaroslav's Court after him. It probably was during this period that Yaroslav promulgated the first code of laws in the lands of the East Slavs, the Russkaya Pravda.

In 1019, Yaroslav married Ingegerd Olofsdotter, daughter of Olof Skötkonung, the king of Sweden.[23][24] He gave Staraya Ladoga to her as a marriage gift.

Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev houses a fresco representing the whole family: Yaroslav, Irene (as Ingegerd was known in Rus'), their four daughters and six sons.[25] Yaroslav had at least three of his daughters married to foreign princes who lived in exile at his court:

• Elisiv of Kiev to Harald Harðráði[24] (who attained her hand by his military exploits in the Byzantine Empire);
• Anastasia of Kiev to the future Andrew I of Hungary;[24]
• Anne of Kiev married Henry I of France[24] and was the regent of France during their son's minority (she was Yaroslav the Wise's most beloved daughter);
• (possibly) Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile, of the royal family of England, the mother of Edgar the Ætheling and Saint Margaret of Scotland.

Anne of Kyiv

Yaroslav had one son from the first marriage (his Christian name being Ilya (?–1020)), and six sons from the second marriage. Apprehending the danger that could ensue from divisions between brothers, he exhorted them to live in peace with each other. The eldest of these, Vladimir of Novgorod, best remembered for building the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, predeceased his father.

Three other sons—Iziaslav I, Sviatoslav II, and Vsevolod I—reigned in Kyiv one after another. The youngest children of Yaroslav were Igor Yaroslavich (1036–1060) of Volhynia and Vyacheslav Yaroslavich (1036–1057) of the Principality of Smolensk. There is almost no information about Vyacheslav. Some documents point out the fact of him having a son, Boris Vyacheslavich, who challenged Vsevolod I sometime in 1077–1078.

The sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise.

Following his death, the body of Yaroslav the Wise was entombed in a white marble sarcophagus within Saint Sophia's Cathedral. In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened and found to contain the skeletal remains of two individuals, one male and one female. The male was determined to be Yaroslav. The identity of the female was never established. The sarcophagus was again opened in 1939 and the remains removed for research, not being documented as returned until 1964.[26]

In 2009, the sarcophagus was opened and surprisingly found to contain only one skeleton, that of a female. It seems the documents detailing the 1964 reinterment of the remains were falsified to hide the fact that Yaroslav's remains had been lost. Subsequent questioning of individuals involved in the research and reinterment of the remains seems to point to the idea that Yaroslav's remains were purposely hidden prior to the German occupation of Ukraine and then either lost completely or stolen and transported to the United States where many ancient religious artifacts were placed to avoid "mistreatment" by the communists.[27]

Four towns in four countries were named after Yaroslav, three of which he also founded: Yaroslavl (in today's Russia), Jarosław in Poland, Yuryev (now Bila Tserkva, Ukraine), and another Yuryev in place of conquered Tarbatu (now Tartu) between 1030 and 1061 in Estonia. Following the Russian custom of naming military objects such as tanks and planes after historical figures, the helmet worn by many Russian soldiers during the Crimean War was called the "Helmet of Yaroslav the Wise". It was the first pointed helmet to be used by a modern army, even before German troops wore pointed helmets.

In 2008 Yaroslav was placed first (with 40% of the votes) in their ranking of "our greatest compatriots" by the viewers of the TV show Velyki Ukraintsi.[28] Afterwards, one of the producers of The Greatest Ukrainians claimed that Yaroslav had only won because of vote manipulation and that (if that had been prevented) the real first place would have been awarded to Stepan Bandera.[29]

In 2003, a monument to Yaroslav the Wise was erected in Kiev, Ukraine. The creators of the monument are Boris Krylov and Oles Sydoruk. There is also a Yaroslavska Street in Kiev, and there are various streets named after him in cities throughout Ukraine.

The Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv is named after him.

Iron Lord was a 2010 feature film based on Yaroslav's early life as a regional prince on the frontier.

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  The ₴2 banknote with a portrait of Yaroslav the Wise.
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  Yaroslav's Rock.
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  The Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
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  Reverse of the two hryvnia coin, Ukraine, 2018
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  A monument to Yaroslav the Wise in Kiev
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  Monument to Yaroslav the Wise in Kiev
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  Monument to Yaroslav the Wise in Kharkiv
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  Monument to Yaroslav the Wise in the city of Bila Tserkva

Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav the Wise's consolidation of Kyiv and Novgorod as depicted at Zoloti Vorota mosaics
Holy Grand Prince[30]
Honored in	Eastern Orthodox Church[31]
Canonized	February 3, 2016, Moscow by Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church[31]
Major shrine	Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv
Feast	20 February[31]
Attributes	Grand Prince's robes, sword, church model, book or scroll[30]
Patronage	Statesmen, Judges, Jurists, Prosecutors, Temple Builders, Librarians, Research, Scientists, Teacher, Students, Kievans[32]

Yaroslav was at the earliest named a saint by Adam of Bremen in his "Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church" in 1075, but he was not formally canonized. On 9 March 2004 on his 950th death anniversary he was added to calendar of saints of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). On 8 December 2005 Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow added his name to Menologium as a local Ukrainian saint.[33] On 3 February 2016, Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church held in Moscow allowed to establish his cult in whole Russian Orthodox Church.[31]

• List of Ukrainian rulers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yaroslav I of Kiev.

• Akathist to Saint Yaroslav