One of the dynasties the Rurikid dynasty intermarried the most with was the Arpads of Hungary. The marriage of Euphrosyne of Kyiv with King Geza II of Hungary seems to be one of the most successful of these unions.
Early Life
Euphrosyne was the only known daughter of Mstislav I, Grand Prince of Kyiv, by his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna Zavidich. She was probably born around 1130, the same year her future husband was born. Euphrosyne had two full brothers, Vladimir and Yaropolk. By her father’s first marriage to Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, she had many half-siblings, including Malmfred, Ingeborg, and Dobrodeia, who all married foreign princes before she was born. Euphrosyne’s father died in 1132, and she seems to have been raised by her mother.
Queen of Hungary
Most likely in 1146, Euphrosyne married Geza II, King of Hungary. They were both about sixteen at the time. The marriage was possibly arranged as an alliance against the Byzantine Empire. At this time, Hungary was expanding south into Croatia and Dalmatia, resulting in military conflicts with the Byzantine. Therefore, Hungary was looking for allies among its Slavic neighbours. Geza’s mother, Helena of Serbia, was also a daughter of a Slavic-Orthodox prince. At the beginning of her marriage, it is possible that Euphrosyne could have looked up to her mother-in-law. Helena was regent for Geza during his minority, and even during her husband’s lifetime, she was a powerful queen consort. Just like Euphrosyne, Helena was raised Orthodox and married a Catholic.
Another reason for this marriage could be the fact that Geza was in conflict with his cousin, Boris, at the time. Boris was the son of Euphrosyne’s aunt, Euphemia. Euphemia had been married to Coloman, who was king of Hungary from 1096 to 1116. When she was pregnant with Boris, Euphemia was accused of adultery and sent back to Kyiv. Due to this, Coloman did not consider Boris to be his son. Boris, however, considered himself Coloman’s son. When Stephen II of Hungary, Coloman’s son from his first marriage, died childless in 1131, he was succeeded by Geza’s father, Bela II. Boris tried to seize the throne from Bela with the help of the Byzantine Emperor but failed. In 1145, he tried again, this time trying to take the throne from Geza. Boris being allied to the Byzantine Emperor could be another reason why Geza was seeking an alliance against the Empire. Also, by marrying Euphrosyne, Geza could keep the alliance with Kyivan Rus in place.
In the summer of 1147, Euphrosyne gave birth to her first child, a son named Stephen. King Louis VII of France was passing through Hungary at the time on the way to the Second Crusade and stood in as Stephen’s godfather. Louis’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was accompanying him on the journey. It is possible that Euphrosyne and Eleanor could have met, but no sources mention this.
Euphrosyne kept in touch with her siblings after her marriage. In 1148 or 1149, Euphrosyne’s older half-brother, Iziaslav II, lost the throne of Kyiv to their uncle, Yuri. Iziaslav looked for support from his western neighbours, including Geza. Geza’s armies ended up fighting a total of six times in Rus from 1148 to 1152. In 1150, a marriage was arranged between Euphrosyne’s full-brother, Vladimir, and a first cousin of Geza. Euphrosyne took part in arranging this marriage, and the Kyivan Chronicle mentions that at the wedding, she feasted with her brothers and gave them gifts. In 1155, Euphrosyne’s mother visited her in Hungary.
Euphrosyne had a close connection to the Hospitaller order. In 1157, after the death of Archbishop Martirius of Esztergom, she completed the construction of the Hospitaller convent at Székesfehérvár, which he started. She also donated many properties to the foundation.
Euphrosyne and Geza had eight children together:
- Stephen III (1147-1172), King of Hungary from 1162 to 1172.
- Bela III (c.1148-1196) King of Hungary from 1172 to 1196.
- Elizabeth (c.1149-after 1189) Married Frederick, Duke of Bohemia.
- Geza (c.1151-c.1210) Pretender to the Hungarian throne.
- Odola, married Sviatopluk, Bohemian prince.
- Arpad, died in childhood.
- Helena (c.1158-1199) Married Leopold V, Duke of Austria
- Margaret (1162-1208) Married firstly, Isaac Dukas and secondly, Andrew, Ban of Slavonia. Possibly married thirdly, Mercurius, Ban of Slavonia.
Geza died on 31 May 1162. During her widowhood, Euphrosyne would become a very powerful queen mother of Hungary, just like another Rus princess, Anastasia, did a century before.
Regency and Reign of Stephen III
Since Euphrosyne’s eldest son, Stephen, was barely fifteen when his father died, she stepped in to rule as regent. However, his accession was challenged by his two uncles, Ladislaus and Stephen. Ladislaus was the first to claim the crown and was crowned as King of Hungary in July 1162. Ladislaus was supported by the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel Komnenos. Soon afterwards, Stephen, possibly along with Euphrosyne and her other children, fled to Austria and then to Bratislava. Euphrosyne soon found support from the Bohemian King, Vladislaus II, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I. As a result of the alliance with Bohemia, Euphrosyne’s eldest daughters, Elizabeth and Odola, were married to Vladislaus’s two eldest sons, Frederick and Svatopluk, respectively.
Ladislaus’s reign did not last long, as he died in January 1163. His brother, Stephen, then had himself crowned as King of Hungary as Stephen IV. Euphrosyne and Stephen III raised an army, and Stephen IV was defeated in battle on 19 June 1163. After this, Stephen III was back on the throne. Euphrosyne continued to rule with him and was involved in church affairs.
That same year, Euphrosyne took part in a peace treaty with Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos. On the advice of Euphrosyne and the Archbishop of Esztergom, her second son, Bela, was sent to Constantinople. Since Manuel had no sons at the time, Bela was betrothed to his daughter, Maria, and named as his heir. Bela was baptised in the Orthodox Church as Alexios and was given the title of despot.
The uneasy relationship with the Byzantine continued, and in 1164, Manuel and Bela attacked forces loyal to Stephen. There was much territory that was disputed between the two countries, such as the Dalmatian Coast. In 1164, Stephen was betrothed to a daughter of the Rus prince, Yaroslav Osmomysl of Halych. This betrothal was possibly arranged by Euphrosyne herself. However, the betrothal was annulled in 1166, possibly due to pressure from Emperor Manuel. Soon, Stephen was betrothed to Agnes of Austria, daughter of Henry II, Duke of Austria, who was a close ally of Stephen. The Hungarian-Byzantine War ended in 1167, with the Byzantine gaining control of the Dalmatian coast and Bosnia. In 1168, Stephen and Agnes were married.
In 1169, Euphrosyne appeared first in a list of lay advisors of the king promoting papal reforms in Hungary. Euphrosyne was also a staunch supporter of the military order, the Hospitallers. She participated in the founding of the first Hospitallers convent in Hungary. Under Euphrosyne, the convent building was finished, and she donated fifty-five of her properties to this foundation.
Reign of Bela III
Stephen died on 4 March 1172. According to a later chronicle, he was poisoned on the orders of his younger brother, Bela, but this is unconfirmed. Stephen left behind no surviving children, so Bela was next in line for the throne. The nobles of Hungary invited Bela to take the throne.
Bela was no longer needed as Emperor Manuel’s heir. In 1169, a son was born to Manuel, and the emperor married Bela off to his sister-in-law instead of his daughter. Bela arrived back in Hungary in late April or early May of that year, but due to a conflict with the Archbishop of Esztergom, he was not crowned until January 1173. Euphrosyne was not in favour of Bela’s accession and instead preferred her younger son, Geza. The reason for this could be that Bela had spent years at the Byzantine court and may have preferred a Byzantine approach to ruling his kingdom rather than a Hungarian one.
Since Euphrosyne preferred Geza, she eventually fell out with Bela. Soon after Bela’s coronation, he arrested Geza. Geza soon escaped, possibly with Euphrosyne’s help, but he was arrested again in 1177. Euphrosyne might have been imprisoned with Geza around this time. By 1186, Euphrosyne was reported to be imprisoned in Branicevo (today in Serbia).
Later Life
Bela would eventually exile Euphrosyne. This might have happened as late as 1186. Geza was released between 1186 and 1189. In her exile, Euphrosyne is believed to have travelled to Constantinople and then on to Jerusalem. At the Hospital of Saint John in Jerusalem, Euphrosyne became a Hospitaller nun.
It is not entirely clear what became of Euphrosyne after this. She is sometimes thought to have died this year, but she is also said to have lived until 1193. Either way, she probably did not remain in Jerusalem for long. In 1187, Jerusalem was captured by Saladin, and all crusading orders left the city. For a while, it seems that many thought that Euphrosyne died near Jerusalem, and was buried in the church of St. Theodosius in Jerusalem, and her remains were later transferred back to Hungary. However, it is now believed that her death and burial in Jerusalem have been confused with another Rus princess, St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, who died in Jerusalem. According to a 1272 document, Euphrosyne was buried at the Hospitaller convent at Székesfehérvár, which she founded.
In conclusion, Euphrosyne’s life seems to have been quite an adventurous one. A Rus princess married in Hungary, she fiercely defended the rights of her older son when her husband died. After her first son died, she was involved in a conflict with her younger son and was exiled due to it. Euphrosyne is notable for having been the last Rus princess to rule as Queen of Hungary and the last Rus princess to rule over a Latin Christian kingdom.
Sources
Font, Marta; “The princess of Kievan Rus in Hungarian History” on hromada.hu
Mielke, Christopher; “Every hiacinth the garden wears: the material culture of medieval queens of Hungary (1000-1395)”
Mielke, Christopher; “No Country for Old Women: Burial Practices and Patterns of Hungarian Queens of the Arpad Dynasty (975-1301)”
Mielke, Christopher; The Archaeology and Material Culture of Queenship in Medieval Hungary, 1000-1395
Raffensperger, Christian; Ties of Kinship: Genealogy and Dynastic Marriage in Kyivan Rus’
Voloshchuk, Myroslav; “Ruthenian-Hungarian Matrimonial Connections in the Context of the Rurik Inter-dynasty Policy of the 10th-14th centuries: Selected Statistical Data”
Zajac, Natalia Anna Makaryk; “Women Between West and East: the Inter-Rite Marriages of the Kyivan Rus’ Dynasty, ca. 1000-1204”
“Euphrosyne Mstislavna” on the website The Court of Russian Princesses of the XI-XVI centuries
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