Representatives of the French royal Capetian dynasty ruled intermittently until 1848. The monarchs belonging to this family also had Slavic blood: in the 11th century, Henry I married the Russian princess Anna Yaroslavna, the daughter of the famous Russian prince Yaroslav the Wise. So the Rurikovichs became related with the Capetian.
All nine children of Yaroslav the Wise, whom his wife, the Swedish princess Ingigerda (baptized Irina), gave birth to him, entered into “prestigious” marriages with representatives of different aristocratic families. But the most striking, so to speak, was the marriage of his youngest daughter Anna.
Daughter of Yaroslav
Her husband was Henry I, King of France. In this western country, the daughter of a Russian prince lived a difficult life: she experienced both ups and downs. And she became the mother of a completely successful king Philip I. He entered French history as Anna of Russia, or Anna of Kiev.
Information about Anna Yaroslavna is inaccurate and contradictory. The annals do not indicate the year of birth of the Russian princess, so historians date the time of her birth from about 1024 to 1036 …
King Henry I of France heard about the youngest daughter of Yaroslav and rushed to marry her: according to historical chronicles, the monarch “got the fame of the charms of the princess, namely Anna, daughter of George (when Yaroslav was baptized, they gave this name), the king of Russia, now Muscovy, and he was fascinated by the story of her excellence."
Heinrich, who was twenty years older than a potential bride, was fatally unlucky in his personal life. In 1034, his bride Matilda Franconian died. In 1044, as a result of an unsuccessful caesarean section, his wife Matilda of Frisian died. After these two failures, Henry did not think about marriage for several years. Moreover, he had other interests: this king, nicknamed the Conqueror, had a strange "hobby": he loved to besiege castles.
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But castles are castles, and the dynasty must continue. So in the spring of 1051, Anna Yaroslavna left for France - as it turned out, so that she would never return to her homeland later.
Signature next to the cross
The departure of the daughter of the Kiev prince to the West was preceded by an embassy of people loyal to Heinrich to the land of the Russians. This is how it is described in a historical document called the Reims Gloss: “In the year 1048 from the Incarnation of the Lord, when Henry (Henricus), King of France (Franci), sent to Rabastia (Rabastia) Shalon (Catalaunensis) Bishop R [Auger] (R.) for the daughter of the king (geh) of that country, named Anna (Anna), which he was supposed to marry, the abbot Odalricus asked that bishop if he would deign to find out whether Chersonesos was in those parts, in which, as they say, Saint Clemens rests, and does the sea still recede on his birthday and [to the relics] can you walk? The bishop fulfilled this. From the king of that country, Yaroslav (Oreslavus), he learned that Pope Julius had arrived [once] in the area where Saint Clement was buried,to combat the heresy that flourished in those parts … The named king George Scavus also told the Shalon bishop that at one time he visited [there] and brought from there the heads of Saints Clement and Thebes (Phebus), his disciple, and put them in the city of Kiev (Chion), where they are honored and worshiped. And even showed these chapters to the aforementioned bishop."
It is customary to celebrate the education of the daughter of the Russian prince. It is believed that the girl wrote and spoke competently not only in her native language, but also in Latin and Greek. And King Henry de signed the marriage contract with a cross. However, some historians say that it was not a simple cross, but one of the symbols of the royal house of the Capetian.
In Russian nationalist circles, it is generally accepted that Anna Russkaya brought the light of enlightenment to Europe from her advanced power to backward France. Historical chronicles do not testify to this.
They were married in May 1051. And, of course, this marriage helped to improve the political position of Russia. At that time, Yaroslav the Wise was in hostile relations with Germany. However, like France. Both countries needed allies in this confrontation. According to rumors, the marriage was also facilitated by the Hungarian monarch Andras I, who also considered himself an enemy of Germany and, in addition, was married to Anastasia, another daughter of Yaroslav the Wise.
The Russian prince did not give any lands for the youngest daughter. But as a dowry, he supplied Anna with a large number of valuable books in precious bindings, other jewelry and money. There is a version that the so-called Reims Gospel, written in Cyrillic, on which French kings have sworn allegiance since the 16th century, was brought to France by the Kiev princess.
Strange name
In 1052, the Capetian heir was born, who was named Philip. Now it is one of the most popular names in France. And then this Greek name, translated as "lover of horses", was something very original. Everyone was surprised that Anna had so named the heir to the throne. Here is how it is written in the historical chronicle: “… the name Philip deserves certain explanations: in that era it was absolutely exotic and was not included in the list of names familiar to Western Europe. The choice of this Greek name was influenced by the mother of the new king, Anna of Kiev, whose great-grandmother was a Byzantine princess, daughter of the emperor. By naming the heir to the French crown that way, Henry I clearly wanted to pay tribute to his wife's illustrious roots, but this choice was also inspired by the imperial dream. Later, five more French kings were named Philippi …
The first years in a foreign land, Anna Yaroslavna was very homesick. But she understood: the situation obliges to keep herself in hand.
Anna and Heinrich had two more sons and a daughter. Their youngest offspring, Hugo, became one of the most celebrated crusaders.
Anna's active nature had no way out. She was forced to deal exclusively with raising children. This is probably why from 1052 to 1060 it was practically not mentioned in historical chronicles.
In 1059, Henry, anticipating imminent death and fearing to release the throne from the hands of the Capetian, crowned the seven-year-old heir Philip.
The king was physically weak - Anna became so interested in state affairs that in 1059 she received a letter from Pope Nicholas II filled with sarcasm: you carry out your royal duties in this very Christian state with meritorious zeal and remarkable intelligence."
Get married for love
After the death of her husband in 1060, Anna returned to historical documents - now as regent with her young son. But in 1061, an event occurred that forced disgruntled historians to practically forcibly remove the stranger from the chronicles. The fact is that the widow got married again. And not for the king, but for a certain Raoul de Crepy, a high-ranking nobleman close to the court. For the sake of marriage with Anna, this aristocrat expelled his lawful wife, accusing her of adultery.
For this alliance, concluded out of love, Anna and Raoul were punished by expulsion from the royal palace, separation from children and excommunication. But, as it turned out, these tough measures did not affect the relationship of the couple.
Raoul and Anna fled to Senlis, a town about 40 kilometers from Paris. There, the couple lived in peace and harmony until 1074, when de Crepy died. In the 1060s, a Russian woman founded the monastery of St. Vincent in this town. It was said that she atoned for the sin of being in union with a man not blessed by the church.
The years passed. In 1070, the young King Philip I needed allies in the struggle for the Flemish inheritance. It was then that he remembered who today would be called the common-law husband of his mother. And again he called him to court as an ally in the war.
Philip was very kind to his mother: he granted privileges to the monastery founded by her.
The year of death of Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France, is lost in history. However, like her grave. The youngest daughter of Yaroslav the Wise died somewhere between 1075 and 1089. Her body was not found either next to her husband or next to her eldest son.
According to rumors, she was buried in the monastery of St. Vincent, which she founded. But the grave disappeared during the further reconstruction of the monastery.
Maria Konyukova
