Mstislav Rostislavich of Smolensk


Mstislav Rostislavich, known as "the Brave", was Prince of Smolensk and Prince of Novgorod.

Biography

Mstislav was the fourth of five sons of Rostislav Mstislavich, the Rostislavichi of Smolensk progenitor who was briefly Grand Prince of Kiev in 1167.
Mstislav was Prince of Belgorod in 1161 and again from 1171 to 1173, Prince of Toropets since 1167, and Prince of Smolensk from 1175 to 1177. In 1168, he was one of thirteen princes of Rus' who, under Grand Prince Mstislav Iziaslavich, defeated the Polovtsy in a major battle on the steppe. The following year, he and his brother Roman along with Yury Bogolyubsky, besieged Novgorod the Great, but Bogolyubsky's army was defeated in battle. In 1171, Mstislav and his brothers helped place their uncle, Vladimir Mstislavich of Dorogobuzh, on the Kievan throne, although he was soon deposed. In 1172 and 1173, Mstislav also helped his brothers, Roman Rostislavich and then Rurik, take the throne in Kiev.
In 1174, Andrey Bogolyubsky sent an ambassador to Kiev to demand that the Rostislavichi leave the city and return it to Andrey's branch of the family. In reply, Mstislav shaved the head and beard of an envoy and sent him back to Andrey, an act which was not only a sign of disrespect, but may also be seen as a forcible tonsure of the man. It was also in violation of the law as the Russkaya Pravda set a fine of 12 grivnas for shaving a man's beard. For this offense, Andrey attacked Mstislav and besieged him in the town of Vyshgorod for nine weeks but was unable to take him or the city.
In 1179, Mstislav was elected prince of Novgorod and entered the city on 1 November 1179. He led the Novgorodians against the Chud during the winter of 1179–1180, but fell ill the following spring and died on 14 June 1180. He was buried following a divine liturgy presided over by Archbishop Ilya of Novgorod, the hegumens of the Novgorodian monasteries, and the Novgorodian clergy.

Marriages and children

Mstislav's first wife was Feodosiya Rostislavna of Ryazan.
Mstislav Rostislavich also had two sons by his second wife:
  • David.

    Legacy and veneration

In literature, Mstislav is addressed by the narrator in The Tale of Igor's Campaign along with his brother Roman, when the narrator calls on the great princes of Rus' to band together to fight the nomadic invaders. Mstislav, however, had been dead six years before Igor's campaign took place, so the call to arms would have gone unheeded. Mstislav's brothers, Riurik and David are also addressed in an earlier stanza of the poem. The Kievan Chronicle called Mstislav the "Jewel" of the Rus' princes, saying that he warred only for glory, despised gold and silver, gave all his booty to the church and was universally loved.
By his baptismal name of "Georgii", Mstislav has been a canonized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. His feast day is 14 OS/27 June NS. His remains were uncovered in 1634 and found to be incorrupt. His remains now lie in a gypsum sarcophagus along the south wall of the Chapel of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Novgorod the Great across the chapel from Bishop St. Nikita.

Primary sources

  • Kievan Chronicle, preserved in the Hypatian Codex and the Khlebnikov Codex.
  • *
  • *
  • * — A modern annotated Ukrainian translation of the Kievan Chronicle based on the Hypatian Codex with comments from the Khlebnikov Codex.
  • Suzdalian Chronicle, preserved in the Laurentian Codex and other manuscripts.
  • *
  • Novgorod First Chronicle
  • *
  • *

    Literature

Category:1140s births
Category:1180 deaths
Category:Rostislavichi family
Category:Princes of Belgorod
Category:Princes of Smolensk
Category:Princes of Novgorod
Category:12th-century princes from Kievan Rus'
Category:Eastern Orthodox monarchs